Hot Sands, Warm Arms
by Wingleader Sora Jade
Summary: AU, PG-13 to be safe. 8 very familiar archaeologists are headed off to Egypt to excavate what could be the biggest discovery since King Tut... (Chap 12 up) Ryou in danger... Enemy revealed!
1. Flying Pregnant is not Fun

Hot Sands, Warm Arms 

by WSJ 

WSJ: ;¬¬ My first try at a "sickly sweet" romance that isn't part angst and/or part drama. *sigh* But amazingly, it IS part humor... What is this world coming to? ;) 

Summery: Semi-AU. American millionaire Pegasus Crawford is funding an expedition to Egypt, and will only hire the best of the best. Those "best" happen to be a husband/wife team and a pair of old men from Japan, as well as two archaeologists from Egypt itself. When Pegasus and his wife Cynthia go out to the dig themselves to complete the team, who knows what bizarre antics could ensue? 

Notes: As I said, semi-AU. Pegasus doesn't have the Eye (at least, not yet), and Cynthia isn't dead (at least, not yet ^~). Other minor changes, most dealing with reletive ages, you may or may not notice, and aren't especially important. The most prominant one is that Isis and Shaadi are both in their twenties, and Malik is in his teens while Yuugi and the others are just being born. 

Why? Why did I write this? ^^ I guess because I'm a Pegasus-fan, but no one portrays him as anything other then a crazed villain or an angsty drunk. *shrug* He must have been happy once upon a time, and this story is that time. ^~ Plus, I wanted to focus on a few of the most minor characters whom I love to death... 

Couplings: Ehhhh... I don't want to give anything away... ^^; I'll tell at the beginning of next chapter, although it's rather obvious one of the couples is going to be Pegasus/Cynthia. 

_'....'_ written words 

()()()()() 

Hot Sands, Warm Arms 

Chapter 1 -- Flying Pregnant Is Not Fun 

_Quote of the chapter:_

"There are nowhere near enough normal duelists in this place!"   
~(Tristan; DarkGatomon; As If!) 

Motou Sugoroku, rather-aged owner of the Kame Game Shop, was sweeping the front pourch, as always, when the mail arrived. 

"Good morning Motou-san," the mailman said cheerfully as he hopped down from his truck, pulling a package and several letters out with him. "New stock coming in?" he indicated the package. 

Sugoroku frowned slightly and leaned the broom up against the side of the shop. "I don't think so. And besides, no stock of mine would come in such small quantities as to be in a package _that_ small." 

The mailman shrugged as he handed Sugoroku the mail and the package. "None of my business, I was just wondering." He waved cheerfully as he hopped back up into his truck and pulled away. 

Curious as to who would be sending him a package, Sugoroku went inside and set it down on the counter, looking around for a pair of scissors to cut the tape. The package was about the size of a loaf of bread, although it was a bit fatter. No return address was visable. 

Inside Sugoroku found an even smaller package wrapped in plain brown paper, a sealed envelope, an unsealed envelope, and a magazine. The magazine he recognised right away. It was Archaeologists Digest, an English-language magazine based out of Cairo that he subscribed to and also regularly wrote articles for. This issue was the latest one. Puzzled, Sugoroku flipped through it until he came to a page where a portion of an article was circled in what looked like red crayon. 

_'And on the American front, the young millionaire Pegasus James Crawford is funding an expedition to Egypt, of which he and his wife will be the head. They have attained permission from the Egyptian government to excavate just to the south of the Valley of the Kings, where Crawford predicts that they will find even more tombs then in the Valley itself. _

"It's intuition," Crawford told us in a recent interview. "Purely a hunch, but one that Cynth and I both think will pay off." Of the other members of his team Pegasus refused to comment. "They are all noted archaeologists," he did tell us. "Only the best. I am in the process of contacting them even now." ' 

Sugoroku blinked, and then blinked again. What in the world...? Picking up the open envelope, he pulled several sheets of paper out of it, all of them covered in neat cursive handwriting. "Dear Mister Motou," the first page began. 

_'As you probably already know, my husband, Pegasus Crawford, is putting together a team of eight archaeologists, including ourselves, to excavate in Egypt near the Valley of the Kings. He has heard much of your many discoveries, and we would be honored if you would join us and add your vast knowledge and wisdom to our cause. If you are still hesitant, perhaps the enclosed gift will let you reconsider. Plane tickets to Cairo are enclosed in the sealed envelope. If you deside to join us Pegasus and I will meet you at the Cairo airport next Saturday. You'll be on the same flight as three others of our team who are also coming from Japan. If you deside not to come, we understand. Just send the tickets back unopened and keep the gift. Thank you very much for your time. Sincerly, Cynthia Renée Crawford'_

Sugoroku sat back in his chair, absently chewing on the end of his mustache. He had to admit, it was tempting, but he was getting up in years. And with his daughter-in-law being pregnant with his first grandchild... He _was_ still on Cairo's roster of active archaeologists, he supposed, but that would have to change. 

Sighing, Sugoroku shook his head. He'd heard a lot about this hot-shot young millionaire Crawford, and he was sorry to miss the chance to work with him. If rumor could be believed, Pegasus's father had died when Pegasus was only twelve, leaving him as the sole heir to the entire Crawford fortune. He'd married his childhood love Cynthia at eighteen, and even now Pegasus was only 21, Cynthia even younger at just 20. Yes, Sugoroku would have liked to meet them personally. Ah well, with little Yuugi on the way it couldn't be helped. 

Remembering the paper-wrapped present, Sugoroku sat up again and lifted it out of the box. It was only about the size of his hand, but he was surprised at the weight of it. It had to weigh at least a pound! Pulling the paper away, Sugoroku's breath caught in his throat. 

Laying in his hand was what had to be a fortune in crystal. It was a clear, completely pure crystal pyramid, not a flaw anywhere to be found. The tip was made of a small triangle of gold, just as the Great Pyramid had been at one time. Etched into one side in delicate strokes was the unmistakeable (at least to an archaeologist) design of the Eye of Horus. 

Eyes as wide as saucers, Sugoroku revrently set the pyamid down on the counter and just stared at it. If Pegasus was willing to spend this much money on a "casual" gift, he either had lots and _lots_ of money to toss around or he _really_ wanted Sugoroku on this expedition. Sugoroku suspected it was a combination of both. 

He was startled out of his reverie by the bell over the door chiming in announcement that someone had come in. Tearing his eyes away from the little million-dollar pyramid he looked up. "Ah, good day, welcome to the Kame..." he started to say, and then trailed off. For a moment he and the visitor just looked at each other, and then the visitor's eyes wandered the the pyramid sitting on the counter. 

Relaxing and smiling wryly, Arthur Hawkins raised an eyebrow. "Ah, so you've been invited along as well, my old friend?" Mutely Sugoroku nodded, and Arthur chuckled. "Well then, what are you waiting for! We've got to pack man, it's already Thursday! That plane leaves tomorrow!" 

"I'm not going," Sugoroku said quietly. 

Arthur's face transformed into a look of vast surprise. "N-not going? Sugoroku, how can you just "not go"? You'd miss the chance to work with the Crawfords... with the Bakuras!" 

This intrested Sugoroku very much, and his head snapped up to look at his old friend. "The Bakuras?" 

Arthur nodded. "Hai. In the sealed envelope with the plane tickets, which I assume you haven't opened yet, is a list of the other members of the team." He pulled a piece of folded paper out of his pocket. "America: Pegasus and Cynthia Crawford." he read. "Egypt: Shaadi Abdul and Isis Ishtar." 

"I've heard of Miss Isis," Sugoroku said thoughtfully. "Supposedly she's one of the best Egyptian historians there is." 

"Yes yes," Arthur said impatiently. "That's because the Ishtar family can be traced back to King Tutankhamen's time and beyond. Now let me get on with the list. Japan: Arthur Hawkins, Sugoroku Motou, and," here Arthur's voice took on a bit of smug satisfaction. "Angeline and Shen Bakura." 

"Okay, okay, you're right," Sugoroku said, holding up his hands in defence. "But I thought Angeline-san was on maternaty leave." 

Arthur shrugged. "Beats me. Maybe they won't come then. But _you_ can't just let this pass by Sugoroku!" 

Sugoroku sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes. "Watch me. I want to be here for Yuugi's birth, I don't want to miss that. I _can't_ miss that. I'm sorry Arthur, give my regards to the Crawfords." 

Arthur sighed, but nodded. He was about to say something else when the phone rang. Holding up his finger in a wait-a-minute gesture, Sugoroku picked it up. "Hello, Kame Game Shop, this is Motou Sugoroku." His eyes widened a little as he listened to the person on the other end. "What? Meiko's gone into labor already?! But she's three weeks early! .... Yes, of course I'll be right there." He hung up the phone and was starting to pull on his coat when he noticed the triumphant grin on Arthur's face and knew his friend had won. They'd both be going to Egypt this year. 

But that was tomorrow, and right now Sugoroku had to get to the hospital. 

~*~

Angeline growled at her husband from her possition leaning over the waist basket in a shadowed corner of a small airport café. "Shen, I swear, you are _never_ getting me pregnant again!" She choked and leaned over the basket to throw up again. Shen sweatdropped as he held her long hair back from her face. Already into her second trimester, Angeline was beginning to show that she was carrying their child. 

"Angeline," he tried again. "We shouldn't be going to Egypt this year. You _know_ how sanitary their conditions are! We should be staying home in nice _clean_ Japan until he or she's at least four years old, or at least leave him with his grandparents. We should _not_ be going over there while you're pregnant, let alone with an infant! Come on Angel, it's common sence. We'll be there for close to ten months, and you're five months along already. If we go to Egypt the baby will be born there, and there's all kinds of diseases he won't have immunity to!" 

Angeline pulled her head up and huffed at him, her face flushed partially from anger and partially from morning sickness. Usually nausea went away after the first three or so months, but she was still experiencing it occationally. "Shen, sweetie," 

Shen gulped. Angeline _never_ called him "sweetie". 

"First of all, why are you calling her a him? I know we agreed not to find out the sex of this baby until it was born, but there's no reason to call her he." Shen started to say something, but thought better of it and let Angeline continue. "Second, Egyptian babies seem to survive pretty well, so I'm sure ours will be fine. If she grows up Egyptian, she grows up Egyptian. So what? 

"Third, I've written back and forth with Isis Ishtar several times after we met at that convention several months ago, and she's a very experienced midwife. I knew I'd be in Egypt when our baby was born, and Isis agreed to come out to whatever dig we were at at the time and help me deliver the baby. We just didn't know we'd be at the _same_ dig." 

She chuckled a little at the look on her husband's face. Standing up, her nausea passed, she slung a duffle bag over her shoulder. "And fourth, who in their right mind would pass up an opportunity to meet Pegasus Crawford, let alone work closely with such legends as Sugoroku Motou and Arthur Hawkins? Not me. We are _going_ to Egypt Shen." 

Shen sighed, giving in, and picked up his own bags. He was a first-time father, but he was learning already not to mess with pregnant women. 

~*~

"Are you coming or not?!" 

Arthur glanced up from the magizine he was reading and did a double take. He and Sugoroku were already in their seats in the first class section of the plane, which was scheduled to take off in about half an hour. Sugoroku was asleep beside him, having spent most of last night up with his son and daughter-in-law and his new grandson, little Yuugi Motou. Blinking again, Arthur nudged his friend in the ribs. "Sugoroku? Wake up, pregnant archaeologist at ten o'clock!" 

Indeed, Angeline Bakura was standing at the door with a duffle bag over one shoulder, glaring down the corridor as her husband huffed and puffed under the weight of all the _rest_ of their carry-on luggage. When Shen finally caught up with her, they looked around for their seats, and saw they were just across the isle from Arthur and Sugoroku, although at the moment they paid the two older men no attention. Angeline plopped right down into her seat while Shen struggled to stow their bags in the overhead compartment. 

Chuckling quietly, Arthur got up to help him. "There you go." 

"Thank you," Shen said, pushing his glasses back up on his nose and smiling sheepishly. "We're going to be in Egypt for almost a year, so we had a lot of stuff to bring." 

"We can sympathize." Sugoroku chuckled, leaning around Arthur to shake Shen's hand. "I'm Sugoroku Motou, and this is my good friend Arthur Hawkins. I believe we'll be working together?" 

Shen looked surprised. "Yes, I suppose we will. I'm sorry for not recognizing you. My name is Shen Bakura, and this is my wife Angeline." 

"Hi," Angeline said as Shen took his seat beside her. "Sorry for not rising to greet you..." 

"Oh no," Arthur hurried to assure her. "It's quite all right. But I must say I'm surprised you're coming along. When is the baby due?" 

"October," Shen said with a smile, putting an arm around Angeline. "You have a lot of sense Hawkins-san. I tried to talk Angeline out of coming along, but..." he shrugged helplessly, as if to say 'women!' 

"Humph," Angeline snorted. "I will _not_ be cheated out of going back to Egypt by something as little as a baby." The men sweatdropped at her and she frowned at them all. "And that is my final word on the subject." 

After that Shen quickly steered the conversation to safer topics. "I mean to ask Pegasus why he's bringing us all out here in June. July and August are the very hottest months in Egypt! Angel and I always do our excavations in the winter, when it's much cooler." 

"Although it never does get trully 'cool' in Egypt," Arthur said. 

"Maybe he really doesn't know?" Sugoroku suggested. "Has he been to Egypt before?" 

No one knew the answer to that, and Shen was just about to declare that they would have to ask Pegasus when the plane began to taxi for take-off. Angeline squeaked and shut her eyes as she began to get nauseous again. Arthur and Sugoroku made noices of concern, but Shen simply sighed and handed his wife a plastic bag from the back of the seat in front of him. 

And so began the trip that would change their lives forever. For they were not just going to stay there ten months and dig up meaningless artifacts. Oh no, the fates had much bigger plans in mind. Plans that would shape the destiny of the world, and it all centered around Sugoroku's little grandson, the baby in Angeline's belly, and the brother of the archaeologist Isis Ishtar. 

But then again, you knew that, didn't you? 

()()()()() 

WSJ: ^^ And so ends chapter 1. Like? Should I continue it, or drop it to work on my other fics. ;;¬¬ I know, I need to work on Home Sweet Home, but I have about TEN TONS of writers block for that at the moment... *sigh* Until next chapter! 

God bless minna-san! 


	2. Land of Pyramids

WSJ: *squeals* Eeee! You all actually liked it!!! 

Chibi-Malik: *scoffs* 

WSJ: ^o^ *glomps Chibi-Malik* Oooooh! He's SO CUTE!!! ;_; But I feel so bad for poor Rashiid... *muffled sobs* The new episode has given me new insentive to write this!! I must make Rashiid happy!!! 

Chibi-Malik: *sweatdrops* 

WSJ: ^o^ Anyway, in last chapter's notes I said Malik would be in his teens. I've changed that a little, so he's about six or seven. ^~ Meee... Kawaii-ness!! *squeaks* 

Chibi-Malik: ;;¬¬ 

WSJ: *grin* Okay, let's see... Oh yes! Couplings. Isis/Shaadi, Pegasus/Cynthia, and Angeline/Shen. ^~ I may add some Rashiid/OC later on, just cuz I want too. *snicker* 

**Vocabulary:**   
_reis_ - Arabic (NOT Egyptian) for captain or foreman, usually the foreman of an excavation   
_ankh_ - the Egyptian symbol for eternal life (or just life). Looks like a cross with a small loop on top. 

()()()()() 

Hot Sands, Warm Arms 

Chapter 2 -- The Land of the Pyramids 

_Quote of the chapter:_

"Make a pilgrimage to the past with me."   
~(Kirika Yuumura - Noir) 

Once the plane leveled off at 10,000 feet Angeline's stomach calmed down and she was able to join the conversations the three men were having. Sugoroku was bragging about his newborn grandson and proudly displaying photos he'd developed at a one-hour place the night before. Soon enough, however, it began to get late and the four of them turned in, along with the rest of the plane, for a night's sleep, be it good or bad. 

They were awakened the next morning by Angeline pushing past her husband to get to the bathroom, and the pilot coming over the intercom to announce first in English, then in Japanese, then in Arabic that they were decending toward Cairo. Angeline returned to her seat and murmered a quiet apology, which the men quickly assured her wasn't necissary. 

After what seemed to be an eternity of circling Cairo International Airport they set down with a reletively smooth landing. Gathering up bags, back-packs and miscellanious books the four archaeologists exited the giant 747. The dry, hot air of Egypt hit them like a slap in the face, and Angeline squeaked happily, her eyes shining. "I'm starting to feel better already!" she declared. 

"Ah!" Arthur said, pointing toward the western wall of the building. "There's our welcome committee." 

Indeed, the silver-white hair of Pegasus Crawford, together with his tall height, made him stand out easily from the crowd. The four Japanese fought their way through the bustling crowd of Egyptians, and immerged into the clear space of about ten feet around Pegasus's group that the security men were keeping open. Slightly breathless, the quartet bowed, and with a chuckle Pegasus returned the gesture, although none of the rest did. 

"The rest" in Pegasus's group were a blond woman a little shorter then him, who smiled pleasently and waved. The other four, however, were serious-faced. Two men, a woman and a little boy in the woman's arms, all obviously Egyptian in colouring and dress, stood a little back from the Crawfords, surveying the scene with stony eyes. 

"Welcome," Pegasus said in softly accented Japanese, offering a seat to Angeline. "I hope your trip was well?" 

"It was, thank you," Shen said, smiling at the millionaire. "I'm Shen Bakura, and this is my wife Angeline." 

"Mrs. Bakura," Pegasus said, blinking a little in surprise. "I had heard you would be unable to come because of the imminate birth of your first child." 

Angeline chuckled and patted her rounded stomach. "Well, I'm not sure who you heard that from, but they're half wrong. I'm not letting my little darling stop me from working with you Crawford-san." 

"Please, call me Pegasus. After all, we're all going to get to be friends, I hope." 

"I'm Sugoroku Motou," Sugoroku said, stepping forward to shake Pegasus's hand. It made a rather comical picture, since Pegasus, being over six feet tall, had to bend almost double to shake the much shorter man's hand. Arthur stifled a laugh and introduced himself as well. 

"I'm Cynthia," the blond woman said, her smile brighting a little. Her Japanese was just as good as her husband's, although her American accent was a bit stronger. "I'm glad to get a chance to work with you Angeline, I've admired your work with Egyptian jeweralry for a long time." 

"Thank you," Angeline said, her face flushing a little. "I'm glad to meet you too." 

Pegasus turned a little and gestured for the group of Egyptians to step forward. Reluctantly they did so, but remained silent. Pegasus gave them a patient smile and said something to them in Arabic. The woman eyed him for a moment, then hesitantly nodded. As if they'd been waiting for her permission, the younger of the two men with her stepped forward to introduce himself. 

He was tall, although not nearly as tall as Pegasus or the other man, and whatever hair he had was wound up in a white turban. Heavy gold earrings hung from his ears, and he was dressed in long, slightly dusty off-white robes. Sweeping his cloak around his shoulders he offered the Japanese archaeologists a deep bow. "My name is Shaadi Abdul," he said in Japanese to the surprise of the quartet from Japan. "I am honored that my old friend Pegasus would consider me good enough to work with such distinguished archaeologists." 

"The pleasure is all ours," Sugoroku said after a moment of surprised silence. Smiling a little, as if he knew what they were surprised about, Shaadi stepped back to allow his fellow Egyptians a turn. 

The second man, who was so tall he towered over even Pegasus and Shen, who were both over six feet in height, was completely bald save for a small area at the back of his head, where his coal black hair was pulled into a long tail. He had piercing gray-green eyes and earrings that looked like small ankhs. He was also dressed in long robes, but his were of deep blues and purples. "I'm Rashiid," was all he said before stepping back. 

The Japanese blinked for a moment, and the woman chuckled, shifting the little boy around in her arms. "Don't mind Rashiid," she said, smiling for the first time. Angeline could see a friendly light in her eyes, and sighed a little in relief. "My name is Isis Ishtar, and this is my little brother Malik. Say hello to Mr. Pegasus's friends Malik." 

"'Lo," Malik said, smiling shyly before hiding his face in his sister's long black hair. 

"My parents are both dead, so I'm Malik's legal guardian." she explained. "He speaks Arabic quite fluently, but isn't quite up to speed on Japanese yet." 

"Oh the little dear!" Angeline grinned as Isis sat down next to her. "He's so cute." 

Isis blushed a little. "Thank you." 

"I'm glad you all decided to come," Pegasus said, addressing the group in general. "Shen and Angeline are our restoration experts. They'll be the ones piecing together any scraps of pottery we find, re-stringing jeweralry, and the like. Shaadi and Sugoroku are what I term exploration, they will be the ones scoping out new sites. Arthur's our linguist, he'll be working on translation of any written texts we find. Cynthia's our mummy expert, if we find any, and she'll be working with Isis, who's our doctor in addition to general, all around archaeologist. Rashiid's our reis, our foreman, he'll be the head of all the workers and will be in charge of keeping them in line. I'm the team's artist. I have to make detailed scale drawings of all the artifacts and wall paintings or carvings we find." 

"Malik's just around for moral support." Isis said, causing everyone to chuckle quietly. Hearing his name, Malik lifted his head and smiled shyly at everyone. His light hair was a direct contrast to Isis's dark hair and both their tanned skin. Hmm... They made a nice picture together. Pegasus would have to think about painting them when he had a free moment... 

"'Sis?" Malik asked, tugging on the shoulder of his sister's gown. He said something in Arabic, and Isis blushed. Rashiid blinked, and Shaadi looked mildly scandilized. Pegasus, Shen, and Sugoroku, who all knew Arabic and understood what he said, choked. Pegasus went into a coghing fit, Sugoroku just blinked, and Shen had blushed nearly as scarlet as Isis. Angeline, who also knew Arabic, started laughing and took Malik out of his sister's arms, setting him on her lap. 

"No Malik," she said, ruffling the little boy's hair affectionately. "I'm not fat. I'm going to have a baby." 

"Baby?" Malik asked, tilting his head to the side adorably. 

Angeline resisted the urge to squeal at his cuteness and nodded. "Yes, a little baby person. Here," she took his hand and gently moved it over her stomach. "Can you feel her kick?" 

After a moment Malik's face lit up as he smiled. "Baby! Baby girl?" 

Angeline chuckled and shook her head. "We don't know yet. We don't want to know until it's born." She winked at the little boy, who giggled. 

Pegasus was smiling faintly, and had slipped his hand unconciously into Cynthia's. "Well, shall we go? I have two buses waiting outside to take us to a hotel. We'll be leaving for the dig tomorrow, and you all still need to get your luggage." 

Angeline stood up, but when Isis moved to take Malik back from her Angeline shook her head and smiled. "He's all right. I don't mind carrying him." 

Isis nodded, and the two women began to walk toward the baggage claims a little behind the men, who were lost already in a conversation of their own. After a moment Cynthia dropped back to join them and took Malik from Angeline. "So what are you going to name him or her?" the blond Crawford asked, indicating with her chin at Angeline's belly, since her arms were currently full of wiggling Egyptian six-year-old. 

Angeline smiled, a slightly dreamy look on her face. "Shen and I have decided on Ryou Emerson Bakura if it's a boy, and Amane Amelia Bakura if it's a girl." [1] 

~*~ 

[1] - This is a small tribute to one of my favorite writers of all time, Elizabeth Peters. ^~ Emerson and Amelia are the names of her famous Egyptologist detectives, whom I absolutely _love_! ^^ Keep writing Peters-sama, you're doing just great! 

()()()()() 

WSJ: *sigh* Yes, I know, the chapter was incredably short and very boring. I promise it'll get more exciting soon. *I hope* ^^; 

God bless minna-san! 


	3. Fiasco at the Shepherd's Hotel

WSJ: Oo;; Three chapters in three days?! This has got to be... a record for me, or something... 

Chibi-Malik: X( 

WSJ: ^^; It's got to be the books... I'm currently in the middle of an Elizabeth Peters kick. ^^ Half-way through _Children of the Storm_ and unable to put it down... ;_; Abdullah... *sniffle* ^^ None of you understood that, but what the hey... 

Chibi-Malik: ?_? 

WSJ: ^^ *cough* Yes, well, on to the chapter! 

Notes: I completely made up Shaadi's last name. ^^; I honestly don't think he "officially" has one. 

**Vocabulary:**   
_papyri_ - plural of papyrus. Usually refers to ancient scrolls made of parchment-like papyrus paper. 

()()()()() 

Hot Sands, Warm Arms 

Chapter 3 -- Fiasco at the Shepherd's Hotel 

_Quote of the Chapter:_

"Emerson stormed when he discovered I had finished his article for him. We had a refreshing little discussion, and then he set about revising my text, muttering under his breath and throwing pens at the wall."   
~(Amelia Peabody Emerson; Elizabeth Peters; Children of the Storm) 

Shepherd's Hotel had changed very little in the years since its construction. It was one of the best hotels in Cairo, and the Bakuras regularly stayed there when in town, as did Sugoroku and Arthur. So it was really no surprise when Pegasus, silver hair cinched back into a high pony-tail to keep it off his neck, directed the driver of their bus to that hotel. All eight of the archaeologists plus Malik were in one bus, while their luggage and Pegasus's security men rode in the other. Really, there were only three extra people. Pegasus's cheif of security, Kemo, and his manservent, Croquet, as well as his personal body-guard. 

It was a short ride to the hotel, but in the congested Cairo streets it seemed to take much longer. The rented buses had no air conditioning, and soon enough the foreigners were all sweaty and panting. Of course, they were all used to it to some degree, but the buses were packed tighter then sardine cans, had unopenable windows, and it was _really_ hot. 

Malik had begun to fidget on Isis's lap, until she finally allowed him to sit on the cool metal floor by her feet. Isis, Shen, Angeline, Cynthia, and Pegasus had all taken turns tying each others' long hair up out of the way of their sweaty backs. Sugoroku had unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt, and after quick glances at their wives Pegasus and Shen quickly followed suit. After about ten minutes, Rashiid rumbled something vulgar in Arabic and stripped off his outer cloak, which was dark blue to boot, leaving him bare-chested in a pair of dark purple pants. Isis hissed at him for that, but the near-bald Egyptian just shrugged and pretended not to notice the way Angeline and Cynthia kept sneaking him looks, despite the muted protests of their husbands. 

Shaadi just sat in the corner and snickered. 

That bus ride, seeing Pegasus and Cynthia sweating right along with them, did more to equalize them with the rest of their team then almost anything else would have done. 

They arrived at the hotel at just after noon, and they piled out of the bus, sighing in relief at the marginally more cool air outside. _Inside_, with its modern air conditioning and ventalation system, it almost sent everyone shivering in shock. They quickly recovered, however, and began carting bags up to the rooms Pegasus had rented out for them. Pegasus and Cynthia would be sharing a suite with Angeline and Shen, two bedrooms going off of a common sittingroom. Across the hall Isis and Malik stayed in a room of their own, while Shaadi and Rashiid roomed together in a bigger, four-bedroom suite with Arthur and Sugoroku. Croquet, Kemo, and the body-guard had a small room to themselves next to the Crawfords' quarters. 

"Shepherd's has an excellent resterant," Angeline was telling Cynthia a few minutes later. They were sitting together on the couch in their common room with the doors to the bedrooms open, so that Pegasus and Shen could listen in while they unpacked. "Shen and I make a point to stay here at least once every time we come to Egypt." 

Shen coughed from his bedroom. "One word, honeymoon." Angeline blushed, and Cynthia giggled. "Oh my." 

"Good food, you say?" Pegasus asked, hanging up one of his dun-colored digging shirts in the closet. "We should have supper there this evening." 

"Wonderful!" Angeline said, clapping her hands in excitement. "We could all dress for dinner too." 

Shen laughed suddenly, and his voice took on a deeper tone. "Confound it Peabody, what have you done with my cufflinks?" 

Angeline leaned against the confused Cynthia, laughing so hard tears were streaming down her cheeks. "What?" Cynthia asked. "I thought your name was Angeline...." 

"It is," Shen said, grinning as he folded a pair of Angeline's elastic-waisted maternity pants. "Never mind, it's a private joke." 

Cynthia blinked, then shrugged. "Ah well, none of my business. Come on Angeline, let's go tell the others they're going to have to dig up some sort of semi-formal dress." 

"Cynnie," Pegasus stopped her momentarily. "Tell Isis if she doesn't want to have to keep track of Malik all through dinner I can have Croquet and Kemo watch him." 

Cynthia smothered a laugh at the thought of those two baby-sitting a roudy six-year-old and nodded. "The experience would do them a world of good." 

The duo went first across the hall, where Isis and Malik's door stood open. Malik was curled up in a ball on the bed, fast asleep, and Isis was sitting by the window reading a book. "Knock knock," Cynthia said, sticking her head around the doorframe. "May we come in?" 

"Of course," Isis smiled at them and put her book down, and the two walked in. Cynthia took a seat on the bed, careful not to disturb Malik, while Angeline took the other chair. 

"Pegasus wants all of us to meet for dinner tonight," Angeline explained. "But that's moot. We came over to just talk, since as the only three women around we'll have to stick together." 

"Unless that baby of yours is a little girl." Cynthia said. 

Isis smiled and leaned back in her chair. "I remember when mother was pregnant with Malik. Poor Rashiid was always hovering over her shoulder and asking if there was anything he could do." She chuckled, if a little sadly. "My poor brothers..." 

"You're related to Rashiid?" Angeline asked in surprise. "You don't look it." 

"No, we don't," Isis agreed. "Because we aren't blood reletives. My mother adopted Rashiid when he was an infant, left abandoned in the desert by some prostitute or another." She sighed, and her eyes took on a far-away look. "My mother loved him like her own, but my father never saw him as anything more then a servent." 

"How..." Cynthia hesitated a moment. "How did they die?" 

Isis smiled bitterly. "Thank you for asking that, really. Malik was too young to remember, and Rashiid won't speak to me about it. I - I need to confide in someone, and you two, I would hope, are my friends." 

"Of course we are," Angeline said firmly, and Cynthia nodded her agreement. 

After a moment Isis nodded and continued. "My family, as you know, is a very old one. Our roots can be traced back to the time of the Unknown Pharoah. My father thought that we were supposed to be the guardians of something, something we had somehow lost a long time ago. He dedicated his life to scouring all the ancient papyri he could find for clues as to what it was we were supposed to be protecting. 

"Finally, just after I was born (or so Rashiid told me once, several years ago) he found something that said the Ishtar family were supposed to be guardians of 'the tomb of the gods and the Mystic Items Rod and Tauk'. Of course, he had no idea of what that meant, and that enraged him even more. My father always had a big obsession with tradition, and finding out that he might be breaking it made him angry like nothing else could. By the time Malik was born, when I was eighteen, he had worked himself into such a state that it bordered on psycotic. 

"When he found out that my mother had had a boy, he stopped even pretending to treat Rashiid as a son, and declared before our entire clan that Malik would be the one to find the 'Mystic Items' again and return to Ishtar tradition. He swore that on the eve of Malik's tenth birthday he would carve the scriptures into Malik's back to make sure he never forgot them. 

"That was too much for my mother, and she begged Rashiid and I to take Malik and run, that she would handle my father." Isis stopped a moment to swallow her tears. "Rashiid's friend Shaadi, yes, the same Shaadi that is working with us here, offered to take us in. We agreed, so late one night just after Malik's second birthday we ran, and my mother stopped my father by making our underground home collapse in on both of them. That was four years ago, and we've been staying with Shaadi ever since." 

"How awful..." Angeline said sincerly, leaning over to lay a hand on Isis's arm. "Is there anything we can..." 

Isis shook her head, and smiled dispite the tears running down her cheeks. "No, but thank you. Listening was the very most you could ever give me." 

"Listening and friendship." Cynthia agreed, leaning over to hug Isis. "Don't forget, we're always here." 

Isis nodded, looking at the younger woman and then over to the older one. Although really, all three of them were close in age. Cynthia, as earlier noted, was twenty, Isis was twenty-four, and Angeline was only twenty-seven. A friendship was indeed forming, one that would last for a long time. But I'm skipping ahead of myself. Allow me to back up just a bit. 

Everyone else was delighted at the suggestion of dinner (except Croquet and Kemo, of course). So promptly at six o'clock that night they all met in the lobby of the hotel and went into the connected resturant. They were shown to a large, circular booth in a shadowed corner that Cynthia had reserved earlier that afternoon. Soon enough everyone was laughing and talking and getting to know one another. 

The three women were discussing children and the care thereof, while Shen and Pegasus bemoaned married life and dodged the occational good-natured whack from their wives. Shaadi and Sugoroku were deep into a discussion of some sort, and Arthur and Rashiid had started up a lively argument about some facet of ancient Egyptian religion. All was going well until about the third course, when a loud shreik came from the table nearest the door. 

"What in the-" Shaadi and Shen both stood up, craning their necks to see over the sudden froth of people. Shen's eyes widened as he spotted it first, and even Shaadi's mouth twitched a little in surpressed laughter. A moment later the cause for the comotion broke through the crowd and ran to Isis. "'Sis!" 

Isis's eyes nearly popped out of her skull, as she observed her little brother buck naked and dipping sudsy water. Quickly she lifted him onto her lap, wet or no, and wrapped her arms around him in a vain attempt to hide, er, him. When Rashiid offered his cloak, she quickly snatched it and bundled the giggling little boy up in it. She was just about to give him a stern lecture and ask him why in the _world_ he was down here, when someone else stumbled up to their table. 

It was Croquet, also dripping wet but thankfully still fully clothed, and seemingly out of breath. Pegasus raised an eyebrow, and the corner of his mouth twitched upward as he asked in as stern a voice possible, "Croquet, what has happened?" 

"A thousand pardons, Master Pegasus," the manservent said, bowing several times in sucession, first to Pegasus, then to Isis, then to Pegasus again. "I honestly do not know how he got away from me. Kemo and I were bathing him in our bathroom, but we then realized that all his clothes were across the hall in his and Mistress Isis's room. I was carrying him across the hall, but somehow he got away from me and ran off. What was I to do but follow him? Oh please Master, I am so sorry!" 

Pegasus's lips twitched again as he struggled to keep a serious face. "No harm done Croquet, I suppose. But _why_ are you so dripping wet?" 

Croquet sweatdropped minutely, and Isis started laughing. "Don't be embarrassed Mister Croquet," she assured him. "It happens to me too. Malik doesn't like to take baths," she said, trying to ignore the tuneless (and rather vulgar) Arabic song Malik was singing in her ear as he played with her long hair. "He tends to splash and, if he can manage it, pull said bather into the water with him." 

The frown Croquet gave Malik seemed to indicate that that was what happened. Chuckling, Isis stood up and hoisted Malik, cloak and all, up with her. "Well, I'd better go finish the little guy's bath and get some clothes on him before the management decides to throw us out." 

"I'll come too," Angeline said, rising to her feet and stretching her arms over her head. "I'm starting to get tired..." The two women left the dining hall together, and after a moment the dripping and sulky Croquet followed them. 

Shen blinked. "And this is what my child will grow up with...?" 

Sugoroku snorted, and the table burst into laughter. 

()()()()() 

WSJ: ^^; Next chapter they actually get out to the dig, I promise! XD I'm sorry, I couldn't help but have Croquet attempt baby-sitting... *snicker* Mwaha. And now you know the Ishtars' altered past. ^~ Sorry all you Yami-Malik fans, he won't be showing up in this. :p No trama, no yami. Sowwey! ^^ 

God bless minna-san! 


	4. Camel Spit and Fountains

WSJ: Mwahaha... Yet another chapter by the "great" ME! 

Chibi-Malik:.... 

WSJ: *chuckles* Okay, here's the scoop. For the last year I've been writing almost constantly on my _Tales of the Child of Fate_, punctored only here and there by song-fics, one-shots, and the occational chapter of _Void Behind My Eyes_. I think, for now, I'm just entirely wiped out on telepaths and mortal yamis. ^^ Don't get me wrong, there's no way I've giving my Tales up, but for now I'm putting them on the back burner to work on this. Sometimes a change is necessary. 

Chibi-Malik: ^o^ 

WSJ: *whacks him gently on the back of the head* Quiet you. ^~ Anyway, chapter 8 of HSH will eventually get done, I swear. But is it my fault the muses keep telling me to work on this? ^-^ 

Nope, this isn't connected to my Tales in any way. ^~ For one thing, there's just a _few_ major age differences that don't exist in my Tales... 

*blancs at Indigo-san's review* Isis as Malik's mother?! *twitch* Noooo... *glances over chapter 3* What Isis said was she remembered when her mother was pregnant with Malik. Nope, they're sibs and nothing more. *^^* Really all I changed about the Ishtars' past was the age difference between Isis and Malik, the fact that Malik's mother _didn't_ die in childbirth, and the reason for Mr Ishtar's obsession with tradition. *^^* And no back carvings. That is always good. :p 

Disclaimer: Own none of it. 

**Vocabulary:**   
_urusai_ - Japanese - literally 'shut up'   
_sitt_ - Arabic - lady 

()()()()() 

Hot Sands, Warm Arms 

Chapter 4 -- Camel Spit and Fountains 

_Quote of the chapter:_

"*blinku* I've never known demons to use laughing gas before..."  
~(Me. XD don't ask, long story...) 

The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful, at least compared to Malik's little streak show. Angeline and Isis took him up stairs and dumped him back into the bathtub, where the water had become quite cold. After the first shock wore off, Malik began to bawl. 

"Just a moment Malik, be patient..." Isis muttered as she turned the tap, letting hot water into the tub. Malik's cries were reduced to sniffles, and the two women set about re-scrubbing him. Only one other incident is of note. Malik somehow managed to yawn just as Angeline was pouring a bucket of water over his head. 

"He _must_ be tired," Angeline commented as Malik rubbed at his eyes. "I suppose that merry chase around the hotel he led Croquet on tired him out." 

Isis nodded as she pulled her brother out of the water and began to dry him off. He was almost limp, and his eyes kept drifting closed. "Are you ready for bed Malik?" 

Malik nodded and yawned again, leaning his head, damp hair and all, against Isis's shoulder. Chuckling they took him to bed, and then sat talking until everyone else came upstairs. 

The next morning at around ten o'clock everyone gathered in the lobby with their luggage. Many of the Egyptian locals stopped to look at them curiously, and one or two who'd met the Bakuras or Sugoroku or Arthur before stopped to talk with them. Another family, who was getting ready to leave at the same time, had a little boy about five, and two little girls about seven and two, respectively. It was the little boy who approached Malik first, but soon enough all four of the children were tearing around the lobby in a hearty game of tag. 

"It's a circus..." Pegasus murmered in English, sweatdropping a little. Then he raised his voice in Japanese. "Let's get a move on! We only have an hour to catch the train!" 

The train ride to Luxor would take about an hour and a half, and from there they had to hire a boat to take them across the Nile to the fabled West Bank, where they would pitch their tents just south of the Valley of the Kings. Sugoroku and Arthur had worked there once, a long time ago, and were looking forward to going back. 

After almost forty-five minutes more of yelling orders, Pegasus managed to get everyone to the station, just as the train pulled in. Cynthia was laughing silently at him as everyone began to haul their luggage on board. Angeline got away with only carrying Malik, but that was expected. "Don't yell yourself hoarse," Cynthia cautioned him, her eyes sparkling. "If you must bellow let Rashiid do the bellowing for you." 

Pegasus smiled sheepishly at his wife as they took seats together near the front of the car. "I can't bellow well enough for you my dear?" 

"No, you can't bellow at all." Cynthia said, though she grinned at him. "Your voice is too high. You don't bellow, you squeak." 

Several rows back Shen sat down next to Shaadi as Angeline and Isis chattered away as women do behind them. "So," Shen said after a moment of contemplative silence. "Angel told me that you took in the Ishtars after they had to leave home. That was very noble of you." 

Shaadi shook his head, a small, enigmatic smile on his face. "No, it was no noble act, it was an honor. I knew my friends were in need and that I, with my large house, could meet that need. I would have been shamed if I had _not_ taken them in. Rashiid has always been a good friend, and Malik is a joy to have in my - our - house." 

"Isis too?" Shen asked, amused at the turbaned Egyptian's exclusion. 

Shaadi's lips moved for a moment as if going over what to say before he said carefully "Yes, of course Isis too. Where once my house was silent, now there is a child's laughter and the touch only a woman can give. I am glad they decided to stay, although Malik can be quite trying over long periods of time." 

Shen laughed out loud at the enigmatic man's admission, but it was cut short by a loud hiss from behind them. "Malik! Get down from there this instant!" 

Shaadi and Shen looked up. Literally. Malik was sitting quite happily on top of the netting near the ceiling where luggage was supposed to be placed. No telling how he had gotten up there, but there he sat, his bare feet (having been rid of shoes at first possible convienience) dangling over the side. When he observed everyone looking at him, he smiled cutely and waved. "Hewwo." 

"Malik..." Isis was working hard to control her temper. "Come down right now!" 

"Yes Malik," Rashiid added his two cents. "It could be dangerous. Come down before you get hurt." 

Malik let out a high-pitched giggle and shook his head, sending his light-blond hair tumbling around his shoulders. "No!" 

Without warning the train put on its breaks with a squeal, sending everyone tumbling forward. Including Malik. Isis's face changed from angry to horrified in an instant as she observed her dear little brother attempting to fly like Horus. "Malik!!" 

"I've got him!" Jumping out of his seat and vaulting over Cynthia with all the grace of a trained dancer, Pegasus jogged backward down the isle, his arms stretched over his head. The entire collective of archaeologists and passengers alike held their breath until Malik landed neatly on Pegasus's head, sending them both tumbling to the ground, dusty but unhurt. 

Seeing that her brother was no longer in danger, Isis went back to being angry. "MALIK!" 

Contrary to what most would do, Malik just giggled. He was still sitting on top of Pegasus, who was on his back on the floor. Well, now he'd raised himself onto his elbows, his long silver hair trailing on the floor. "Are you okay Malik?" 

The little Egyptian nodded happily and threw his arms around the millionaire's neck, giving him a sloppy six year old kiss on the cheek. "Wuv you!" he announced cheerily before getting up to run off and get into some other form of mischief. 

(@_@;; Now that I think of it, he _is_ starting to remind me of Ramses... :p Non-Peters-sama fans ignore that.) 

Cynthia was laughing when Pegasus finished dusting himself off and plopped back into his seat. "That was so cute!" she gushed. "Absolutely adorable!" 

Pegasus blushed as he smoothed his hair back, deftly tying it into a thick braid down his back. "I'm - er - sure it was..." he murmered. 

Still giggling to herself, Cynthia went back to talk with Angeline and Isis, the latter of which had just finished giving Malik a stern lecture that had had no visible effect on the boy. The absence of Cynthia allowed Shen, Sugoroku, and Arthur to pounce. 

"That was _so cute_!" Shen cooed, mimicking Cynthia. 

"Urusai..." Pegasus muttered, still blushing a little. The men snickered, but backed off. 

Fortunately nothing else of great consequence happened for the rest of the train ride. The archaeologists disembarked, luggage and chibi hauled with them. "Ah Thebes..." Arthur mused, using the ancient name for the modern city. "Been awhile, hasn't it Sugoroku?" 

Sugoroku nodded and chuckled, adjusting the strap of his bag over one shoulder. "It has. I wonder if old Abdullah is still in business?" 

They continued to discuss old aquaintences while Pegasus, Shaadi, and Shen held a quick conference. Finally they broke out of their loose huddle and Pegasus whistled for attention. Everyone stopped to look at him except Malik, who was cheerily running around and getting dusty. "We've decided," Pegasus said, motioning to himself and the other two, "That it would be worthless to try and get across the river, out to the site and set up camp tonight. Shaadi has kindly offered for all of us to stay in his and the Ishtars' house until tomorrow, when we finally will get to go out to the dig." Everyone agreed happily with this plan, and Rashiid left on some mysterious errand for Shaadi. 

"Now where's..." Isis didn't even have to complete her question, as she spied her little brother some distance away. A flock of sheep had strayed across the railroad tracks, preventing the train from leaving. The shepherd of the errant flock and several officials were attempting to drive the flock away, and Malik was happily bouncing in and about among the sheep and generally terrifying them wool-less. "MALIK!" 

Malik stopped and looked around, but due to his short stature couldn't see above the curly, baying forms of the sheep. Unhesitantly he grabbed a handful of wool and leaped on top of a sheep, then waved at Isis, a large smile on his tanned face. The shepherd frowned at the little boy and began shouting at him in Arabic, waving his staff around in a generally threatening way. Isis bristled and then rolled up her sleeves, stomping over and wading among the sheep. She plucked her brother off the back of the sheep and tucked him under one arm, dispite his squirming. She then promptly got into a fierce shouting match in Arabic with the disgruntled shepherd. 

"Goodness..." Angeline muttered, blinking in surprise. "I didn't know Isis _knew_ language like that..." 

The shouting continued for several moments until Isis finally threw up the hand that wasn't holding Malik. She rattled off something exhasperated-sounding and then spun on one heel, making her way back toward the group. Malik was still under her arm, giggling and waving his arms. "'Sissy din't have ta' yeww at him! But it sure was funny!" He started giggling again and Isis sighed gustily. 

"Malik, don't make me put you on a leash again..." 

Thankfully Isis didn't have to make do on her threat, because at that moment Rashiid returned with several donkeys and a camel in tow, as well as two men nearly as tall as him in traditional Islamic garb, turbans and all. He and Shaadi conversed for a moment, and then Rashiid turned to the group in general. "This is Karim and Najíb, good friends of mine and Shaadi's. They will help us with our luggage, and help us tomorrow morning to get to the site as well. Karim has agreed to take us across the river in his boat. Unfortunately, neither speaks English, only Arabic." When he motioned to them, both men bowed respectfully. 

Karim was the shorter and stouter of the two, with darker skin and a beard that was liberally speckled with grey. His eyes were blue, and they sparkled with a warmth and mischeif that defied even Malik's. Speaking of the boy, he laughed happily at the appearence of the two men, and Isis let him down from his arms. Running to them with a joyous shout in Arabic, Malik allowed himself to be swept up into Najíb's waiting arms. 

Najíb was taller then Karim, and more muscular, and younger. His beard was not so long, his skin not so dark, but his eyes were the same laughing blue, which was what betrayed to the others (Cynthia, at least) that Karim and Najíb were father and son. This was confirmed that night at dinner, but I shall get to that later. 

Once the two Egyptians were done tickling Malik's stomach and betraying how much they adored the little boy, Angeline stepped forward and bowed to them. They looked at her in surprise, their eyes round. When Cynthia stepped up beside her new friend and bowed as well, the men's eyes nearly popped out of their dark heads. They were used to seeing Isis walking around unveiled, of course, but they considered her a strange breed of man-woman anyway, since she went around doing a man's work and wearing (to their minds) man's clothes. But these new women were something else entirely! Skin as pale as milk, as soft as wool, and what hair...! Golden as the sun setting over Tutankhamen's tomb, and so long and curly! 

Almost at once both men dropped to their knees and bowed low before Angeline and Cynthia, to the immence surprise of all present, especially Pegasus and Shen. Cynthia's eyes grew as round as saucers, and Angeline squeaked in surprise. "Please!" she said in Arabic without thinking. "There is no need! Get up, my friends, get up!" 

Reluctantly they did so, exchanging owlish glances. "You speak our language, sitt! Trully you must be sent from Allah!" Karim exclaimed, lifting his hands heavenward. 

Angeline sweatdropped slightly. "Oh my, no. Please, stop that silly talk." 

"And the other?" Najíb asked eagerly, nodding at Cynthia. 

"No," Angeline said, casting a regretful glance at the bewildered Cynthia. Hmm... She'd have to see about teaching her some basic Arabic... "She does not speak Arabic, and is most assuredly not from God." Behind her she heard Pegasus mumble something in English, probably soething along the lines of "Cynthia" and "angel", but she didn't speak much English, so she couldn't be sure. 

"Ah, sitt, trully it will be an honor to work with you." Karim said, bowing before her once again. When his head was about waist level he stopped, and quickly straightened again. Backing away as if he'd been stung he mumbled apologeticly "I am sorry sitt. I did not know you had a lover already." 

Absently Angeline rubbed her belly and smiled reassuringly at the two Arabs. "I am married and so is Cynthia, but that will not stop us from being friends, I hope. After all, you are friends with Isis, are you not?" 

Both men brightened considerably and nodded, and then they began to load the luggage on to the donkeys and camel with help from Shaadi and Rashiid, and more hiderance then help from Malik, who was again bouncing about in his usual way, ecstatic at the appearance of his two friends. He was rambling away in rapid-fire Arabic that Angeline was pretty sure no one was listening to. 

"What was _that_ about?" Cynthia asked, scratching her head. 

Pegasus laughed and put an arm around her. "I think our guides have fallen in love. If not with you, then with Angeline!" 

"It doesn't surprise me." Shen noted, shrugging a little. "They've never seen a woman with blond hair before, and probably never a woman unveiled except for Isis-san." 

A high-pitched giggle from the direction of the animals drew their attention. Malik was standing in front of the camel, which had bent its long neck to peer at him. Malik poked it, causing it to snort, and he giggled again. He then promptly began pulling it's ears and trying to stick his hands up its nostrils until the camel calmly reared back and spit in his hair. Malik looked vaguely disgusted for a moment, then broke into wild laughter. Isis's face turned purple under her tan, and she stomped over to give him a stern yelling-at that would, of course, have no effect whatsoever. 

(v_v; Yup, definately Ramses...) 

Angeline sighed, then chuckled. "Can we get in out of the heat? Baby's telling me she's too hot." 

Shen started, and quickly began to lead Angeline in the direction that Shaadi-tachi were beginning to bring the animals. "Yes yes, of course. But how do you know it's a she?" 

"I just know, okay?!" she snarled, rounding suddenly on him. Then all at once she broke down and clutched at Shen's shirt. "Oh Shen, Shen! Don't let her hear you call her 'it'!" 

Shen just sighed in husbandly tolerance. 

The walk to the Abdul-Ishtar house wasn't far, and they all understood right away why it hadn't been a problem for Shaadi to take in the three Ishtar siblings. He probably could have housed all of a village in his house. It was large and square, two stories tall and arranged around a courtyard and garden in the center. In the very middle of this courtyard was a tall fountain, around which trees and short, flowering shrubs grew. Seeing them staring, Shaadi smiled sheepishly. "My father left me quite a bit of money, and a very big house. The garden is all Isis's, she's the one who got them to grow." 

"It's wonderful..." Angeline said, sinking gratefully onto a bench by the fountain and letting her hand trail in the cool water. "Absolutely amazing." 

All at once a small tanned form barreled past her, and with a happy shriek flung himself into the fountain, spraying water in every direction. Angeline giggled a little dispite her now soaking condition as Isis's voice rang across the courtyard. 

"MALIK!!!!" 

()()()()() 

WSJ: O_o; Oi vey, Isis has a temper... 

Chibi-Malik: *giggles* 

WSJ: *eyes him* Yes, and you are the cause... Anyway, reviews please!! ^^\\// 

God bless minna-san! 


	5. Carrots in the Sand

Chibi-Malik: ^-^ *cuddling a Chibi-Pegasus plushie SJ got him a few days ago* 

WSJ: v_v; Some people have muses that adore giving them fic ideas. _I_ have to bribe mine... 

Chibi-Malik: :p 

WSJ: Ah yes, on to the various questions I've been receiving. The most often asked one is kind-of obvious. Will the yamis be in this? ^~ Yes they will *gets nudged by Indigo-san* _all_ of them except for Ishtar. 

Chibi-Malik: Oo; 

WSJ: ^^ And when I say all, I mean _all_. But that's not for a few years yet. Let's try and get Angeline's kid born before we go giving it a yami, okay? 

Angeline: ;_; You called her it... 

WSJ: v_v; Ahhh... Okay, next question. For those of you that have read the latest chapter of _Home Sweet Home_, it got revealed that Angeline was actually the goddess Fate in disguise. That is **not true** in this fic. Angeline is just Angeline, although I may bring the Elementals in later. As for Shaadi, he is obviously _not_ the guardian of the Sennen Items. _No one_ has received their Item yet, not even Isis or Shaadi. 

And for all of you that said Isis needs anger management... yes, yes she does. @_@;; 

Disclaimer: The usual. Don't own, don't claim to own. I do own Karim and Najib, but you can have them if you really want. :p 

**Vocab:**   
_onee-san_ - Japanese - big sister (formal)   
_neesan_ - Japanese - big sister (informal)   
_jii-san_ - Japanese - grandfather (informal)   
_ojii-san_ - Japanese - grandfather (formal)   
_tenshi_ - Japanese - angel 

()()()()() 

Hot Sands, Warm Arms 

Chapter 5 -- Carrots in the Sand 

_

Quote of the Fic:

_

"Carrots huh? Eat enough of those and someday you'll grow up to be a spaceship."   
~(Tenchi - Tenchi Muyo)

Dedication:  
For Ebony-san.  
*twitches* I shall never look at Jonathon the same way again... 

Malik's head popped up from the fountain and he tossed his wet hair out of his eyes, grinning widely at all who were staring at him. Angeline and Cynthia were outright laughing, and Shen and Pegasus and Arthur were chuckling. Karim and Najib, both used to the little boy's antics, had amused smiles on their faces. Sugoroku, Rashiid, and Shaadi were all nervously backing away from Isis, who was, once again, absolutely livid. 

Seeing the look on his onee-san's face, Malik's smile faded as he registered her anger (for once). "'Sissy?" he asked timidly, shrinking down into the fountain as if he could hide under the water. "I do somet'ing bad?" 

"Of course you did!" Isis shouted, blowing up at the little boy as she stomped over to glare down at him. "You're always so... so... you're _such_ a little boy! Can't you stay still five minutes without getting into some mischeif or finding some new way to disgrace the family name? God Malik, sometimes I don't know why I didn't just leave you underground with mom and dad!" Spinning on her heel she stormed off into the house. Staring after her with wide lavendar eyes, Malik suddenly sat down in the fountain, heedless that the water was now up around his shoulders, and began to cry. 

The rest of the archaeologists exchanged started glances. "I've never seen her yell at him like that before..." Rashiid ventured after a moment. "He's always annoyed her, I know, but never to the point of losing control like that..." 

"I'll go talk to her." Cynthia volenteered. "Shaadi? Do you have any idea where she went?" 

"To her room, most probably." Shaadi said. "Come, I'll show you the way." Before leaving he turned toward Karim and Najib, who looked a little confused since the entire exchange had taken place in Japanese, but who were also obviously concerned that Malik was sobbing his eyes out in the fountain. "Will you two please show Pegasus-san the way to the stables and then begin to unload? I'm sure Malik will be fine." He nodded toward Angeline, who was obviously getting ready to scoop the little boy up out of the water. Najib and Karim followed his gaze, then nodded in serene understanding. Surely the blond-haired sitt could take care of their little friend. 

Shaadi and Cynthia left the courtyard by the door that led to the kitchens. Karim and Najib led the camels through the archway that led out to the stables, Pegasus, Arthur, and Sugoroku trailing behind them. That left Angeline and Shen in the garden courtyard with Malik. 

Leaning over the edge of the fountain, Angeline tucked her hands under Malik's arms and lifted him out of the water as easily as if he weighed nothing. She set him down on her lap as Shen sat down beside her on the bench. Both their clothes were soaked in an instant, but neither really cared. Malik leaned against Angeline and cried into her shoulder while both adults whispered to him quietly and stroked his hair. At first the little Egyptian was just babbling incoherantly, but soon he calmed down enough to form actual sentences. As upset as he was though, he couldn't seem to remember his broken Japanese, and after a few false starts that just made him even more upset he gave up and spoke in Arabic, which both Shen and Angeline understood (although Malik had forgotten this fact as well). "Isis hates me!" 

Shen blinked. He'd only known the Ishtars for a day, but he recognised this as the anomalty that it was. Malik almost never called his sister by her given name, it was always 'Sis this' or 'Sissy that'. Never 'Isis'. Malik must be _really_ upset. Shen almost rolled his eyes at that. No duh he was upset. 

"Oh Malik..." Angeline said sympatheticly, hugging the boy and brushing away the wet hair that was plastered against his forehead. "I'm sure she doesn't hate you. She just got mad, that's all. It happens to everyone." 

Shen nodded his agreement. "My little brother and little sister and I fought all the time." He looked thoughtful. "In fact, we still do. It's just a part of nature for sisters and brothers to fight Malik, but she still loves you, I'm sure of it." 

Malik seemed to think of something else and hiccuped, another tear sliding down his cheek. "Sh-she said she'd l-leave me under gr-ground. Rashiid says that i-it's really sc-scary down there." 

"We won't let her leave you underground." Shen soothed, glancing up at his wife and winking at her. "And if she does, we'll come rescue you." 

"Promise?" Malik asked hopefully, turning around in Angeline's lap to look up at Shen too. 

Shen and Angeline grinned and said in unison "We promise!" 

"Goodie." Malik seemed to be cheering up a little, but made no move to get up. That was fine with the Bakuras, who were enjoying getting to cuddle the adorable, if wet, little chibi. But that was okay too, since it was warm out and the sun was quickly drying them off. After a few minutes Malik sat up suddenly and patted Shen's cheek to get his attention. "Shen-san?" 

"Hm?" Shen asked. 

"Will you be my daddy?" Before either Bakura had a chance to recover from the question, Malik craned his neck to look up at Angeline, whose lap he was still sitting on. "And will you be my mommy?" He saw their surprised looks, so he hurried to explain, his eyes widening in agitation. "'Cause I have a sister, an' I have a bwother, an' Uncle Shaadi, and Uncle Karim, and Uncle Najib, but I dun' have a mommy or a daddy. 'Sissy and Rashiid say I had them a wong time ago, but I don't anymore." he sounded sad, but then perked up again and laid a hand on Angeline's stomach. "An' when you have the baby, I won't be the littlestest anymore, 'cause I'll have an even _littler_ little bwother or sister!" 

Angeline smiled warmly at her husband, who grinned back at her. "Who can refuse a face like that?" 

"Yay!" Malik whooped, throwing one arm around Angeline's neck and the other around Shen's to give them both a hug. Then he leaned over so his face was about an inch away from Angeline's belly. "Hear that baby?" he asked, gingerly reaching out to rub the bulge the baby made. "I'm Mawik, your big bwother!" 

Shen and Angeline chuckled and glanced at each other before looking down at Malik again, who was now carrying on an animated conversation with Angeline's belly or more logicly, the baby inside. "I guess you get to be a mother sooner then expected." Shen noted quietly, squeezing his wife's shoulder. 

Angeline nodded and smiled, leaning back against her husband's shoulder, rubbing Malik's hair with one hand and holding one of Shen's hands with the other. "I think I'm going to like parenthood." she said pleasently. 

"Me too Angel," Shen assured her, grinning cutely as his eyes briefly formed a chibi-esque "^-^" shape behind his glasses. "Me too." 

~*~

(WSJ: Ahhhh! The WAFF! Cannot switch gears fast enough! @_@ Warning, system overload... Choking on fluff... *falls over and starts twitching as the assorted muses sweatdrop*) 

"Isis-san?" Cynthia knocked gently on the door, then proceeded to push it open just wide enough to stick her head in. "Isis?" 

"Go away." came a sulky voice by the window. Isis was sitting on the window seat of her room on the second story of the house, her chin in her hands. Her window faced the inner courtyard, and she was watching as Angeline and Shen cuddled and cooed over her little brother outside. 

"Too bad." Cynthia said decisively, stepping inside the room. She took a moment to look it over. It was simple in its furnishings, but very neat and tidy, just like its mistress. The bed was neatly made with a gold and black quilt patterned in hieroglyphics. Sitting next to the bed was a small dresser with a mirror anchored to the wall above it. A closet was present in the wall opposite the bed, and a white-washed bookcase stood next to it, holding quite a few books and a few small trinkets. Other then that, the only other furniture, if it could be called that, was a painting hanging next to the window where Isis now sat. 

The Egyptian woman gave no notice of Cynthia, although she obviously was aware that the blond was in the room, so Cynthia took her time and looked over the room in detail. The bedspread grabbed her attention first. Pegasus was in the midst of teaching her to read hieroglyphs, and she could make out the main jist of what had been stitched into the blanket. "'At my death let the bubbles of blood on my lips taste as sweet as berries. Give me not words of consolation. Give me magic, the fire of one beyond the borders of enchantment. Give me the spell of living well.'" she read out loud. She furrowed her brow in thought, wondering where she had heard that passage before. 

"From the ancient Egyptian Book of Coming Forth By Day." Isis said, never turning away from the window. Her voice sounded flat, emotionless. "You would know it as the Book of the Dead. It's a spell of protection. Rashiid and Malik have blankets like that too, although in different colors. Mother made them for us." 

Cynthia waited for Isis to go on, and when she didn't the American shrugged and moved to glance over a few of the books on Isis's shelf. A few were books on ancient Egyptian society and religion, a few romance novels. Cynthia was rather amused to see a dog-eared book on child rearing, as well as a tattered copy of Tolkein's _Lord of the Rings_ written in what she assumed to be Arabic. Cynthia knew from the quick tour of the house Shaadi had given her on the way to Isis's room that there was a library downstairs. Apparently these were more personal books, and so Isis prefered to keep them in her room. 

Cynthia's next examination fell to the painting hanging by Isis, and when she got a closer look at it it stole her breath away. The picture, which she had assumed was a painting, was actually done in colored pencils. It showed a young Egyptian man in his early or mid teens with huge angel wings made of what appeared to be fire sweeping back from his shoulders. He was holding some sort of a staff, and Cynthia noted that although the hair was much too long, the winged youth bore an uncanny resemblence to an older Malik. "Isis, what's this?" She blinked at the small "II" signature in the corner. "Did you do this?" 

(WSJ: For those of you that want to see this drawing, go to www.angelfire. com[slash]realm3[slash]wsjsfics[slash]malikfire.jpg (add slashes as needed, ff.n wouldn't let me put them in.) I drew it, heaven knows why.) 

Isis nodded, finally turning away from the window to look up at Cynthia. "Yes, I did. I saw him in a dream once, and was inspired to draw him. I really don't know just why." 

"It looks like Malik." 

Isis nodded. "I've noticed that too. In the dream, he was standing with two other men about his age. One of them had spiked black and gold hair, and the other had long white hair. The white-haired one had wings that were the purest silver-white, and the one with the spiked hair and blue and green wings. I never have been able to figure out what the dream meant." she shrugged. "It was probably just a dream." She turned back to the window, and after a moment Cynthia sat down beside her. 

After a few minutes of silence, Isis sighed. "I really didn't mean to make him cry." she said out of the blue as she watched Malik carry on his conversation with Angeline's stomach. "It's just that sometimes he's so... so... exasperating!" 

Cynthia giggled. "Well, I wouldn't know about that, me being an only child and all, but I don't think he'll hold it against you. You're siblings, siblings fight. It's a fact of life." 

"I suppose." Isis sighed again. "But between having Malik to watch and my job as an archaeologist, it seems like my life has never been normal and never will be." Though she was still looking out the window, she was no longer watching Malik. Her eyes seemed focused on a point far distant. "While I was growing up, forced to stay underground, all I wanted was to see the sun, to laugh and play like anyone else. The few times Rashiid and I managed to sneak outside I watched the other little girls running and laughing, and I wished I could be like that. Then I grew up, and those desires faded. But when mama told me and Rashiid to take Malik and run, I thought... maybe I could be normal, maybe I could have normal friends... But all the women my age, and most of the women around here period, are all Muslims and kept under a tight leash. And even if they weren't, I have Malik to look after, and that ruins almost any chance I could ever have of making any friends." 

"You have made friends." Cynthia pointed out. "Rashiid, and Shaadi, and Karim and Najib." 

"I mean female friends." Isis snapped, then she softened. "I'm sorry Cynthia, but sometimes its so hard being surrounded by men." 

Cynthia rolled her eyes and put her chin in her hands. "Oh believe me, I know how that goes." she said. "Almost all the servents in our home are men. Not that I have anything against Croquet and Kemo, and certainly nothing against Pegasus, but why in the world would he think I need a manservant, not a maid? (Not that I've ever needed a maid anyway.) Even our cook is a man, for crying out loud!" 

Isis couldn't help it, she started laughing. The idea of Croquet or Kemo attempting to help Cynthia with her hair or make-up was just to much. Cynthia grinned at her in return. "And hey, you do have some good lady friends on your hands. You can't get rid of me and Angeline _that_ easily!" 

Isis calmed down from her laughing fit and then smiled at the blond in genuine gratitude. "Thanks a lot Cynthia, I appreciate it." 

Cynthia's grin widened a trifle as she stood up. "Call me Cynnie, all my friends do." 

Isis nodded and stood up as well. "All right then... Cynnie. Let's go down and see if we can get supper started. It's almost six, and our men-folk are going to be wanting their food." The two headed downstairs for the kitchen, chatting as they went. They'd just stepped off the last stair when Angeline and Shen entered from outside, Malik riding happily on Shen's shoulders and chattering about three miles a minute. As soon as he saw his sister, he went silent and shrunk down as if trying to hide behind Shen's hair. 

Angeline and Shen stopped upon seeing them as well, but when Cynthia caught Angeline's eye and smiled, the two blond women relaxed slightly. Reaching up Angeline extracted Malik from her husband's head and set him on the ground, nudging him forward a little. "Go on Malik." 

Malik gave her a long glance from under his bangs, then shuffled forward until he was standing in front of the surprised Isis. He looked down at his feet, his hands clasped in front of him as he fidgeted from foot to foot. "S-sissy?" 

Isis's heart gave out and she kneeled down in front of her brother, a smile on her face. "Yes Malik?" 

"I'm sowwey." Malik said sincerely, still looking at his feet. 

"Awww..." Isis gathered her brother up into a hug, one which Malik enthusiasticly returned. "I forgive you Malik, and I'm sorry for yelling at you." 

"I fo'give you too." Malik said, smiling as he pulled back out of her arms. "Mommy said she thought you would." 

Isis looked startled. "Mommy?" 

Malik nodded and pointed back at Angeline. "Mommy, and daddy." he shifted his finger to Shen, who was trying to contain laughter. 

Isis was still mystified. "Mommy and daddy?" 

"I'll explain it to you." Angeline promised. "As we make dinner. I assume that's where you're headed?" When Isis and Cynthia nodded, she spoke again. "Good, I'll help. Just give me a moment to change out of my wet clothes. Any idea where Shaadi went? He's got our bags on those camels." 

"Out back, in the stables." Isis said. "Take that corridor there and then turn left, right out the back door. You can't miss it. I think all you guys are staying up on the second floor with me and Malik. There's only two bedrooms on the ground floor, and they're already Rashiid and Shaadi's." 

"I'll go get our bags." Shen promised, giving Angeline a peck on the cheek. He then headed off in the direction Isis had indicated, whistling merrily as he went. Angeline laughed and took Malik by the hand. "Come on Malik, let's go follow 'daddy'. What do you keep in the stables?" 

"Horses!" Malik said cheerfully as the two of them followed after Shen. "And a cranky ol' donkey named Nanet." 

Isis laughed out loud at that and shook her head ruefully. "Nanet's the sweetest thing on four legs you'll ever meet." she explained to Cynthia as the two women entered the kitchens. "She just doesn't like Malik very much." 

~*~

Angeline and Malik found Shen, Shaadi, Pegasus, Sugoroku, Arthur, Karim, and Najib unloading bags from the camels and making piles out of them according to which people they belonged to. 

"Shen and Angeline will have a room to share," Shaadi was explaining. "And so will Cynthia and Pegasus, obviously. Arthur and Sugoroku will have rooms to themselves. Almost any room on the second floor is fine." he added as she spied Angeline gathering up her bags in preparation to go change out of her wet sundress. "Just pick one." 

"I'd better take our things upstars as well." Pegasus decided, gathering up his and Cynthia's bags. Of course, there were quite a few more then he could carry, so he'd have to make another trip. As for Angeline, she'd just picked up her own two suitcases, assuming Shen would bring his own things once he was finished helping unload. Malik had helpfully picked up Angeline's duffle bag and purse, and now cheerfully led the way as she and Pegasus entered the house again. 

"Have you seen Cynnie?" Pegasus asked as the two of them began to climb the stairs to the second floor. 

Angeline nodded. "She and Isis are in the kitchen starting supper. I'm going to go help them as soon as I change clothes." she said. The trio reached the second floor and Malik led them to the right (although it didn't really matter, since the house was arranged in a square). 

"Which room do you want mommy?" Malik asked, surprising Pegasus as much as he had Isis and Cynthia. 

Angeline smiled as Malik put her stuff down in the room she'd indicated. "Malik has decided that Shen and I are his 'mommy' and 'daddy' since he doesn't have any." she explained. 

Malik tugging on Pegasus's pant leg made both adults look down. "Peg'sus?" Malik asked, looking slightly bewildered. "Is it okay to have two mommies and two daddies?" 

Thinking that Malik meant his real parents and his "new" parents, Pegasus was quick to nod. "Of course it is." he assured Malik. 

The little Egyptian's face broke into a wide grin. "Goodie! You sav-ed my life on da twain, so you'e my daddy too! And Cyn'ya is my mommy too!" He wrapped one arm around Pegasus's leg and his other around Angeline's, then giggled slightly. Angeline and Pegasus looked at each other a moment, then burst out laughing, thouroughly charmed by the little boy. 

"Come see my room Papa!" Malik said, detaching himself from his papa and mommy and grabbing ahold of Pegasus's hand. Chuckling, Pegasus waved good-bye to Angeline and allowed himself to be led. Angeline watched them go with an amused smile on her face, then went into her room to change clothes. 

Peeling off her wet sundress she hung it over the shower rod in the bathroom to dry. She rummaged through her bag and found a pair of black stretch shorts and a light pink t-shirt with the words "Drama Queen" on the front. Shen had gotten it for her last Christmas, insisting that it just fit her personality _so_ well. Angeline brushed her hair back and secured it in a low pony-tail, then slipped on some sandels and headed for the kitchens. 

"Knock knock." she said, sticking her head around the door frame. "What can I do to help?" 

Cynthia was over near the large island counter in the center of the kitchen peeling potatos, while Isis was rummaging through the many cabinets, looking for a certain pan. "Grab the chicken out of the refridgerator." Isis said over her shoulder. "Just set it on the counter so it'll start to thaw. Then you can help Cynnie with the vegetables." 

Angeline did as she was bid, then glanced over at Cynthia and chuckled. "You're a mother Cynthia." 

"What?" Cynthia nearly dropped the potato she'd been working on. 

Angeline laughed. "According to Malik, I'm mommy, and you're mama." 

"Intresting." Cynthia admitted, sweatdropping a bit. "I wonder where he came up with that?" 

Angeline shrugged. "He said because Pegasus "sav-ed his life on da twain" you were his parents too." 

"Aww..." Isis said, grinning. "That's cute." 

"Yup." Angeline said cheerfully. She blinked suddenly, then giggled and put her hand over her stomach. "Stop it! That tickles!" She was apparently talking to her baby. 

"So do you really think it's a girl?" Cynthia asked. 

"Actually, no." Angeline admitted. "_I'm_ pretty sure it's a boy. But Shen _wants_ a son, so I just pretend I think he's a girl to tease him." 

"How long have you and Shen been married?" Cynthia asked, obviously intrested. "Pegasus and I both want children, but neither of us are ready yet." 

Angeline nodded thoughtfully. "Twenty is a bit young to be a mother, especially when you both have busy jobs." 

"What, like you don't?" Isis asked. Although unmarried, she was intrested in the subject of mothering and babies as well. 

"Okay, you got me." Angeline admitted. "Let's see... Shen and I met my junior year of college. He'd already graduated, and was serving as a teachers' aide in my ancient Greecian history class. It wasn't exactly love at first sight, but obviously we _did_ fall in love. It was actually through some mutual friends of ours that we got together. We got engaged about a year and a half later, and then got married just after I graduated college five years ago. Like you," she nodded at Cynthia. "We both wanted children, but we knew we didn't want them right away. We were both archaeologists, and we always went out on our digs together. It was two years ago, when I was 25 and Shen 27 that we decided we were finally ready for kids. I was actually pregnant once before, but we lost the baby when I got sick due to food poisoning. This time though, we're going to make it. Somehow I can just know." 

"That's sweet..." starry-eyed Cynthia said, sighing happily. She leaned against the counter, her chin propped up in her hands. "I can't wait until you have your baby Angel. I just _love_ little kids!" 

Angeline chuckled and patted her stomach. "Well let me tell you, I'm quite ready for the baby to be born. It's starting to get annoying having to eat and sleep enough for two." 

"How far along are you?" Isis asked. 

"About 5 months." Angeline said. "I'm due in October, but my family has a history of premature births, so I'm going to have to be careful." 

Isis was nodding. "In about a month or so you're going to have to start taking it extremely easy Angel. We want both you and that baby to be healthy. But just in case, I'll start brushing up on techniques for delivering premies." 

"Oh!" Cynthia exclaimed, slightly surprised. "You're going to deliver the baby Isis?" 

"Yup. Angeline and I have been discussing it for several months. I am a registered nurse, you know." 

"No, I didn't." Cynthia said, smiling. "That's a big accomplishment for someone your age." 

Isis blushed a little and looked down. "When we came to live with Shaadi when I was twenty I started going to school almost immediately. Archaeology and nursing may seem like strange professions to mix together but they've always been dreams of mine." 

"And now you're living both." said a voice from the doorway. The women turned to see Shaadi, his hair down out of his turban and pulled back instead into a long ponytail. "Do you ladies need any help?" 

Isis nodded briskly to cover the slight blush on her cheeks and tossed Shaadi an apron. Both Angeline and Cynthia caught the coloring on her cheeks, however, and exchanged amused glances. "You know where the dishes are." Isis instructed him as he tied the light pink apron around himself. "Could you set the big table in the dining room? Oh, and make sure someone invites Karim and Najib to join us." 

"Yes of course..." Shaadi murmered, frowning down at Isis's choice of apron. "But is this really necessary?" 

"Of course." Isis said, smiling a bit devilishly. "Pink looks very good on you Shaadi." 

"If you say so..." the man muttered, pulling a stack of plates out of a cabinet by the door. The moment he left the room all three women burst into giggles. 

"Isis, that was possitively evil!" Angeline giggled, leaning up against the counter for support. 

"But no camera..." Cynthia lamented, and the others agreed, still giggling. 

Supper was served at seven, and everyone had a wonderful time just talking and getting to know each other. Angeline (with Malik's help) began teaching Karim and Najib basic Japanese, while at the other end of the table Pegasus and Isis coached Cynthia in Arabic. In between the two language lessons, Sugoroku and Rashiid got into a fierce argument over an obscure hieroglyph and its exact meaning. Arthur, Shaadi, and Shen joked about the argument and started up a running comentary on it as if it were a football game. 

All in all, the evening passed quickly, and soon enough Najib and Karim excused themselves, insisting that their wives would be worried if they were home too late. Everyone bid them good night, and the archaeologists continued to talk, although the discussion slowly turned to their plans for the dig. Only Pegasus, Rashiid, and Shaadi had been out to see it, and they were very mysterious about the whole thing. 

At about nine-thirty Malik began to yawn, and Isis told him it was time for bed. Of course, he had to say good-night to everyone first. ^~ He turned to Angeline first of all, since she was the one he'd been sitting closest to. "'Night Mommy." he said, standing on tip-toe to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Good night baby." he patted her stomach, then ran around the table to Shen. "Good night Daddy!" 

"Good night Malik." Shen said, giving him a hug. 

Malik went next to stand between Pegasus and Cynthia, and gave them both their hugs in turn. "G'night Papa, g'night Mama." 

"Good night Malik." they said in chorus, sharing smiles with the rest of the table. 

To the surprise of the old men, Malik came to them too with "Night jii-san" for Sugoroku and "G'night ojii-san" for Arthur. They both chuckled and wished him good night, and then Malik turned to Shaadi. "Good night Uncle Shaadi." And to Rashiid. "Night big bwother." Only after that did he let Isis pick him up and carry him toward the stairs. Peeping over his sister's shoulder as she carried him away, he waved sleepily to those still sitting at the table and then yawned widely. 

After tucking Malik in Isis headed back down stairs and the adults continued to talk, even though their numbers began to dwindle. Cynthia and Angeline were the first to bow out, followed in short order by their husbands and Isis. Sugoroku, Arthur, Shaadi, and Rashiid talked for several hours more before they too bid each other good night and went to bed. 

It was along about 2:30 a.m. when Shen was woken up by someone pacing up and down at the foot of the king sized bed in his and Angeline's room. Rolling over sleepily, he felt beside him and then became much more awake when he realized his wife was not in bed with him. Sitting bolt upright he was relieved to realize that Angeline was the one pacing. "What's wrong Tenshi?" he asked, using his nick name for her. In the dim light he could see her constantly rubbing her belly, and he couldn't help the panic that gripped his heart. "Has something happened?" 

Angeline cried out in delight in seeing that her lover was awake. In two steps she was beside him and had wrapped her hands around the collar of his shirt, pulling her close until his face was bare inches from his. For a moment Shen thought she was going to kiss him, but she opened her mouth to speak instead. "Pickles, soy sause, and carrots." 

Shen blinked, now thouroughly confused. He had to be dreaming. "Wha?" 

Angeline tightened her grip on his collar. "Pickles, soy sause, and carrots. I _must_ have them Shen!" 

Shen sighed. This was no dream, just another weird food craving. "Tenshi," he said patiently. "We are in Luxor, Egypt. Nothing grows here except papyrus, lotus, and palm trees. _Where_ am I going to find pickles, soy sause, and carrots, especially at 2 a.m?" 

Angeline's face crumpled and big, fat tears began to roll down her cheeks. Letting go of Shen's collar she turned her back on him and began to sob. "You don't love me Shen! If you really loved me you wouldn't care what I wanted or how late it was! I should have married Pegasus! _He'd_ get me what I want! All it is is just some measely carrots and pickles with some soy sause! Is that to much to ask of the man whose child I'm carrying?!" 

Shen's eye twitched a little at the mention of Pegasus, and he sighed deeply. He'd learned that the fastest way to deal with these mood swings of Angeline's was to get her what she wanted. But the problem still stood. How in hell was he going to find those things at 2 a.m. in Egypt? 

He sighed again and stood up to get dressed. He may as well try. And even if he didn't find her pickles, carrots, and soy sause, well, she'd understand. 

Or at least, he hoped so. 

()()()()() 

WSJ: *snickers* And yet another chapter where they don't get to the dig. *sigh* Ah well. We'll get there eventually. Hey, anyone wasnt to see Shaadi in his apron? For some reason this chapter just kept inspiring me to draw things... I am currently working on the floor plans of Shaadi's house, although there's no telling when _those_ will be done... Anyway, here's my pic of Shaadi. www. angelfire.com[slash]realm3[slash]wsjsfics[slash]shaadiapron.jpg (again, add the slashes) 

Alright, survey time! I have some questions for you guys... 

**1)** Should Pegasus and Cynthia have children?   
**1b)** How many?   
**1c)** Genders? Names? Any suggestions at all? ^^ 

**2)** What about Shaadi and Isis? Any kiddos for them? 

**3)** Should Rashiid get a nice, OC girlfriend? Rashiid romances are practically non-existant... 

And now that you guys have answered some of my questions, I'll answer some of yours. ^~ 

Will the yamis be in this? I answered this one earlier. All of them will be eventually, except for Ishtar. Interpret that as you want. ^~ 

Will anyone else (ex: Jou, Honda, Kaiba, ect.) be in this? Ehhh... I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that eventually they do all end up going back to Japan, so it is a possibility. ^~ 

Is Angeline's kid Ryou or Amane? I'll go ahead and say it. It's Ryou. He is older, that is canon, so the kid Angeline's carrying right now is Ryou. In the future however... 

This isn't really a question, but a lot of people have commented on it. Yes, Malik is _very_ cute. I'm basing him part way off of Ramses, from the Elizabeth Peters novels I keep mentioning, and part way off of Gher, a really adorable character in _The Redemption of Althalus_ by Leigh and David Eddings. He's also a little bit of my best friend's baby brother (*huggles baby Kai*) and a bit of the kid I always end up watching when I'm in the church nursery. *snick* Fishes... *blinks* Never mind. Anyway, I'm babbling, so I'm going to go to bed. Not that I can sleep, my head is so stuffed up. *sighs and puts on her headphones, which start blasting Savage Garden* Let me be the one you call, if you jump I'll break your fall... *yawns* G'night minna-san! 

God bless minna-san! 


	6. When Sand Fleas Attack

WSJ: *giggling slightly on a taffy-induced sugar-high* Wee-hee... I must write more... *twitch twitch twitch* 

Chibi-Malik: -_-; *hides taffy* 

WSJ: Hey C-Malik, com'ere. We got a guest. ^^ *evil laugh* 

Chibi-Malik: ?_? *observes Kaze, dressed in black leather, chained to SJ's computer desk* 

Kaze: *looks pleadingly at audience* Get me out of here... And that's a direct order! 

WSJ: *glomps Kaze, dispite his muffled protests* :p I kidnapped him from High Crystal Guardian. Isn't he precious? 

Kaze: X_x; Chibi-Malik is precious. _I_ am not precious. 

WSJ: :p Yes you are. Now then, everyone go bug HCG to update, okay? ^^ Kaze, disclaimer. 

Kaze: Must I? 

WSJ: *wicked grin* You must if you want to keep your clothes... 

Kaze: 0o; Stupid authoress fangirls... SJ don't own YGO. Karim and Najib are hers, and if you ask nicely you can have them, although I dunno why you'd want them. 

WSJ: ¬¬ That was very monotone Kaze. Put more feeling into it next time. 

Kaze: v_v; I have feelings? 

WSJ: *decides to ignore him* Thanks for helping out and answering the questions ya'll! ^-^ I now have some vague idea as to how everyone's love lifes are going to go. :p 

Kaze: *dryly* Oh peachy. 

WSJ: *giggles and huggles Kaze again* Anyway, now on to reviews! I'm only answering the ones that asked really big questions (or the ones I just felt like answering) because I'm getting too many to answer them all. 

**Indigo-san:** X3 I can't wait for them to show up either, but that's going to be a long while in the future. I want to fully develop everyone's character first before I get into all the Items and yamis and saving the world biz. Oh yeah! Speaking of _them_, did/does either one have a Duel Monster/spirit monster that they're particularly fond of? Like Yami's is the Dark Magician, and Ryou's is the Change of Heart. Either one of _them_ got a "mascot"? 

Hmmm... A name for Ishtar... I dunno, I've always liked "Ammit" ever since Ses-chan suggested it for his middle name in my Tales. Ammit is/was the crocodile-like monster that ate your heart if it was heavier then the feather of truth in ancient Egyptian religion. 

Oh, and did I mention who's going to be holding the Sennen Ankh in this here universe/realm/fic-thingy? *wide grin* It's not Shaadi... 

**Windswift-chan**: Yes, you're exactly right about the yamis. *grin* Aren't you happy? But as I said to Indigo a paragraph ago, it's not Shaadi that gets the Sennen Ankh... On other notes: Whoo! I'm glad Pegga is growing on you. ^^ *snick* The "carrots and spaceships" thing was from Tenchi Muyo. If you really want to know then e-mail me. The quote was the same one I used in VBME chapter 10. ^~ 

**HCG-chan**: *cackles and hugs Kaze close to her* *innocently* Foreshadowing? What is this foreshadowing of which you speak? X3 As for the "say good night to everything that moves" thing... Yes, my sibs do it too. v_v; As for the "girls to offset the balance" comment... Have you forgotten little Amane so quickly? ^~ 

**Aisu Hoshino**: The Rod will go to the one who's meant to have it. >:) Not saying much, am I? Ah well, I may as well give a hint. How's Seto going to get the Rod if he's in Japan and the Items are still in Egypt? As for Cynthia and Amane dying... We'll see. 

**SkyDancerHawk**: Awww, I'm sorry... Maybe I'll find some way to bring Ishtar in later, but little Malik is definately _not_ going to get tramatized. :p He's too adorable for that. Actually, I always thought of Shaadi's hair as black too. I was just too lazy to colour it in in that picture. ^^; 

**LoneWolf16**: Oo; Are you a mind-reader or am I just really predictable? I swear, I wrote the first half of this chapter before I got your review!! 0_o; Ehhh... You'll see why they have to go back to Japan quite a bit later on. ^_~ Can't say anything without ruining my plot. :p 

**Vocabulary:**   
_kaa_ - Egyptian - the ancient Egyptians believed that a _kaa_ was a person's soul, and walked hand in hand with their _baa_, their body. In the Yu-Gi-Oh sense, Bakura uses the word _kaa_ to describe his spirit monster Diabouno in the Ancient Egypt arc of the manga. When I use it here, I mean both. ^_~ 

Okay, on to the chapter! 

()()()()() 

Hot Sands, Warm Arms 

Chapter 6 -- When Sand Fleas Attack 

_Quote of the chapter:_

"Good writing is something that just comes naturally. I don't believe it can be taught, or learned in a classroom. But there does seem to be a connection between good writing and caffine. Whenever I have two or three cups of coffee, things start to happen."   
~(Moi ^~) 

The first thing Shaadi noticed as he entered the dining room the next morning was the fact that Shen was already up. The Japanese man was sitting at the table with his head in his hands, and faint snoring sounds were drifting from him. 

A small sweatdrop trickled down the side of Shaadi's head. Okay, maybe not quite up. Grinning a little to himself Shaadi moved to shake the slightly older man awake. "Shen-san, Shen-san wake up." 

"Mmpht?" Shen asked, blinking himself awake and picking up his glasses from beside him on the table. "Morning already?" 

"'Fraid so." Shaadi said. "What are you doing sleeping on my table and not upstairs with Angeline?" 

Shen sighed softly. "Pickles, soy sause, and carrots..." 

Shaadi's eye twitched a fraction of an inch. "What?" 

"Angeline had a craving and wanted me to find her pickles, soy sause, and carrots. Where am I supposed to find pickles, soy sause, and carrots in Egypt in the middle of the night?! Anyway, I couldn't even find a store that was open, and I know from past experience that Angel is _not_ happy with me when I don't get her what she wants, so I decided it might be more profitable to sleep down here last night..." 

Shaadi blinked. "Did you try the pantry?" 

Shen's eyes bugged out behind his glasses as he fought the urge to face-fault. "...You have a pantry?" 

Shaadi nodded. "Yes, right behind the kitchens. Come, I'll show you." 

In a slight daze Shen followed Shaadi down the hall and into the kitchen. The Egyptian led him to a plain wooden door at the back of the room, which was barred at slightly above waist level. (Some subconcious part of Shen recognized the height for what it was: just slightly out of Malik's reach.) Putting the bar aside Shaadi let the door swing open and then reached inside to flip on the light. "You see?" 

Sitting inside were shelves and shelves of canned and boxed food, as well as several huge wheels of cheese, barrels of cider and beer, more barrels of apples, pears, and other imported fruit, and at the very back sat a large refridgerator that held yet more things that Shen couldn't see with the door closed. And lo and behold, sitting on one of the shelves was a jar of imported American pickles, a bottle of soy sause, and in a bushel basket on the floor were several dozen carrots. 

Shen fought the need to bang his head against the wall, and settled for sating his curiosity instead. "Shaadi, why do you have so much food when it's just the four of you living here?" 

Shaadi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and Shen noted that his hair was, once again, wrapped up in a turban. Hmm... He'd have to see if Shaadi could teach him to do that. It certainly would be useful if he could keep his hair out of his face and off his neck during the hottest part of the day. 

"Three main reasons my friend." Shaadi was saying. "The first is that most of these foods are imported, and it's much cheaper to buy them in bulk. Secondly, Isis and Rashiid and I have known about this dig of Pegasus's much longer then you guys have. Pegga and I are old friends you know, he was my roommate for a year in college when he was an exchange student in Cairo. Anyway, this house is only just across the river from where we'll be digging, so we'll probably come back here for a nice meal and a good nights' sleep once or twice a week. Believe me, after a week on canned rations, this will seem like a feast." 

"And the third reason?" Shen asked, still trying to struggle around the strangeness of Shaadi calling their leader by such a familiar name as "Pegga". 

Shaadi chuckled. "Malik eats like a horse." 

"Ahhh..." Shen nodded in understanding and then bent down to grab a couple carrots out of the basket by his feet. "If Angeline still has that craving of hers, and even if she doesn't, I don't want her to think I ignored her 'needs'." he explained, taking down the bottle of soy sause as well. "Jeez, I didn't even know soy sause _came_ in liter bottles..." Shaadi helpfully picked up the giant jar of pickles and they headed back for the kitchen to start making a real breakfast for the un-pregnant people in the household. 

They were the first ones up, but as soon as the small of frying bacon and French toast began to diffuse through the house Malik came bouncing down the stairs, followed by a yawning Pegasus. Malik was still dressed in his pajamas, which consisted of a pair of dark grey shorts and a white tank top with the Superman logo on the front. Pegasus was tying a scarlet red bathrobe around him, and his feet were covered by white fuzzy bunny slippers. 

"Yummy!" Malik said, standing on his tip-toes to watch as Shen rather clumsily flipped the French toast. 

"What can we do to help?" Pegasus asked, trying without success to smooth down his hair, which was sticking up in wild silver bed-headed spikes. 

"Could you please set the table?" Shaadi requested as he poked at the bacon in the skillet he was tending. "Just enough for ten of us. Karim and Najib won't be joining us until after breakfast. Malik will show you where the dishes are." 

Pegasus nodded and let Malik lead him over to the other side of the kitchen, where long cabinets lined the counters. As he counting out plates and cups and Malik was fooling around with the silverware Isis came into the kitchen. She blinked in surprise at seeing the three men already up and cooking to boot. "Well now, this is a pleasent surprise." she noted, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. 

Shaadi raised an eyebrow, and Isis laughed. "But you're not wearing that apron!" Shaadi immediately started glaring, while Shen and Pegasus gave him questioning looks. 

"Never mind." Shaadi said curtly. "It's of no importance." 

With all of them helping breakfast was soon on the table. Pegasus went to wake Cynthia, Sugoroku, and Arthur, and Shen nervously sent Isis to wake up Angeline after she'd awakened Rashiid, not knowing whether his wife was mad at him or not. The women were the last ones down, and everyone else was already seated when they walked in. Cynthia was yawning and rubbing her eyes, her hair sticking up in blond tangles with bed head almost as bad as Pegasus. Which left the question of just what they'd been _doing_ last night to get their hair so tangled. ^~ 

Angeline took one look at the pickles and carrots sitting drenched in soy sause on her plate, turned green, and sprinted for the bathroom. Isis hurried after her worriedly, grabbing a bottle of morning sickness pills from the kitchen cubbord as she went, and Shen sighed. "Craving past..." he murmered, standing up to clear away the plate. "Too bad we had to waste those nice carrots though..." 

"I'll eat 'em!" Malik piped up from between Rashiid and Pegasus. "Cawwots is good for you." 

The others stared at him as if he were nuts. "Not when they're swimming in soy sause alongside pickles." Cynthia said incredulously, finally tying her hair back into a long ponytail and leaving it at that. 

"Yuh huh!" Malik said defensively, crossing his tanned arms across his chest. 

"Uh uh!" Cynthia shot back. 

"Are to!" 

"Are not!" 

"Are to!" 

"Are not!" 

"Are to!" 

"Are not!" 

"Are to!" 

"Are-" 

"Cynnie, why are you arguing with a six year old?" Isis asked as she and Angeline came back into the room. Angeline was still looking a little green, and Shen put down the plate he was holding to immediately go over and take her into his arms. "I'm sorry Angel, I thought you might still want them." 

"No, that's okay." Angeline assured him, hugging him back. They pulled away after a moment, and Angeline sweatdropped. "Although I think someone else does..." 

Indeed. As soon as Shen had put down the pickled/carrot-ed/soy saused plate Malik had pounced on it and was now devouring it as if it were a premium chocolate sundae. Everyone else was looking a bit grossed out by the display, and Arthur pushed his plate of toast and bacon away. "That makes one lose their appetite..." he said dryly, and the others agreed. A few minutes after Malik had finished though everyone's hunger returned and they dug into breakfast with a vigor. 

Pegasus was the first one to finish and he sat back with a contented smile on his face. As everyone else began to finish he held his hands up for silence so they could hear him speak. "As soon as we get everything loaded into the jeep Shaadi and I bought a few weeks ago we'll set out. Karim's boat is quite strong enough to hold the weight of a car, and that way we won't have to fuss with trying to get camels or donkeys on and off a boat. If we do need animals there are plenty for hire on the West Bank. Today I want to concentrate on getting camp set up and everyone settled in. Tomorrow is when the real excavation will begin. Shen and Shaadi and I have been working on a duty roster, which we'll present to you at breakfast tomorrow. With that said, I leave everyone to pack and get ready to be off. You don't need to bring everything with you, because we'll be coming back here at least once a week when our workers have their holy day off. At that time we'll do laundry or whatever, so we'll have clean clothes for the next week." 

Everyone began to get up to go pack, and Cynthia and Angeline collected the dishes to be washed. Shen caught Shaadi's arm as the Egyptian started to leave, and for a moment they talked in hushed voices. A moment later Pegasus joined their huddle, and then the three men left the dining room together, heading purposefully toward Shaadi's room, where they promptly locked themselves in. They didn't come out for over an hour, and once Isis was sure she heard a yelp of pain that sounded like Pegasus. 

After almost an hour and a half, when everyone else was packed and ready to go, the door opened and the three young men stepped out. Cynthia, who was the only one in the hallway at that particular time, squealed in delight and then burst out laughing. Pegasus and Shen both had their hair wrapped up in turbans, although not quite as neatly as Shaadi's. Shen's dark purple bangs still poked out the front, and Pegasus had a few locks of silver hair escaping from in front of his ears as well. 

(WSJ: :p Jeez, this fic keeps making me want to draw... www.angelfire.com[slash]realm3[slash]wsjsfics[slash]turbans.jpg The one on the lower left is Pegasus, (obviously a bit later in the story ^_*) lower right is Shaadi, upper right is supposed to be Shen, and then Malik in the upper left.) 

"Aw, adorable!" Cynthia giggled, poking Pegasus's turban and earning a semi-sour look from him. "What made you think of this?" 

"Shen did." Pegasus said. "He thought it would hlp keep our hair out of our eyes and off our backs while we're working." 

Cynthia nodded ruefully, thinking of her own thick braid that reached nearly to her waist. "Long hair is not a good thing for an archaeologist... Anyway, everything's all packed up and we're ready to be off whenever you guys are. Karim and Najib showed up about fifteen minutes ago, and we're ready to move on out." 

"Well all right then," Shen said, checking his watch and seeing it was about 9:30. "Let's get going." 

Ten minutes later everyone was gathered outside. Shen and Angeline would be riding to the docks in the jeep, and everyone else would be riding horses from the house, which Najib would then return to the stables after they'd all left on his father's boat. Let's take a look at how well some of our heros ride horses, shall we? 

Now, it can be seen rather obviously that Sugoroku Motou riding a horse denies every law of physics, and then some. Thus Isis made sure he got the most placid and gentle of the horses. But even with the smallest saddle they had Sugoroku's feet barely reached the stirrups. Finally Isis and Shaadi gave up and had him ride double with Arthur, much to the shorter man's disgust. 

Malik was parading around and showing off his skills, giggling as he did. His horse was a beautiful Arabian mare by the name of Maritza, all tawny gold except for one white stocking. He was a very good rider for someone his age, and he rode bareback with only a bridle, as was typical of born Egyptians. 

Isis and Shaadi and Rashiid calmly mounted their own beasts, as did Karim and Najib. Shaadi nodded at Shen, who started up the jeep and gestured for them to lead the way. 

Pegasus swung himself up and onto the dark grey stallion he'd been given with the grace of someone trained to ride. Unlike Sugoroku and Arthur, he didn't seem to mind riding bareback and waved off Isis's offer of one of their spare saddles. "Let someone who really needs it use it." Leaning over he helped Cynthia to climb up behind him and get settled. "Now there my dear, just put your arms around my waist and you'll be fine." 

"You know how to ride Papa?" Malik asked, bringing his horse around beside Pegasus's. He was dressed only in a pair of knee-length breeches and a white t-shirt, his feet bare and already dusty. 

The millionaire chuckled and nodded, reaching up to adjust his turban with one hand as they all started off in a long, stringing procession. Isis and Shaadi were in the front, leading the way to the docks with the jeep just behind them. Behind the vehicle came Karim and Najib, and Rashiid and Sugoroku and Arthur. Sugoroku did not look at all comfortable on a horse, and Arthur wasn't much better. Rashiid was patiently trying to talk them through how to ride, but he was clearly beginning to get a little annoyed. Pegasus and Cynthia, with Malik alongside them, were in the very back. The caravan (of sorts) was beginning to attract a crowd, drawing long stares from Egyptian shopkeepers and peasents alike. 

"Yup, we have horses back home in New York." Cynthia supplied from her place behind her husband, her arms around his waist. She was dressed in a tan shirt and khaki shorts, her long blond hair bound back in a braid. 

"Neato!" Malik exclaimed in delight. Then a small, devilish grin crept on to his face. The little Egyptian's guardians had long learned to dread this grin, which was one of innate, unparalleled mischeif. "Race you to the pier!" 

Before either of the Crawford heirs had a chance to react Malik had spurred his horse forward, kicking at her soft underbelly with his heels. "Tut tut Maritza! Hya!" He barreled between Rashiid and Karim, the latter of which swore in surprise. Dodging to the left of the jeep Malik pushed his way between his sister and Shaadi, galloping out onto open road. 

It only took a second for Pegasus to react. Cynthia's arms tightening around him assuring him that she was ready, he kicked at his stallion's flank. "Hyaa!!" The horse bolted forward, taking the same path Malik had. The horse that was carrying Sugoroku and Arthur reared in alarm, sending both old men to the ground in a heap of swearing Japanese senior citizen. Cynthia gave a muffled shout of laughter and half-turned around to look over her shoulder as they too dodged around the jeep. Sugoroku was shaking his fists at them, and Angeline and Shen in the jeep looked surprised. Isis was red in the face, apparently trying not to scream or laugh or both. Shaadi too was red, but he most definately from laughter. 

"Hang on Cynnie!" 

Pegasus's warning came just soon enough that Cynthia was able to tighten her arms around him again before Pegasus turned the horse sharply to the left, sending it clattering down a side-street after Malik. The sharp turn nearly unseated them both, but they righted themselves and kept going. Malik led them through alley after alley, calling back to them in high pitched Arabic about how dreadfully slow they were. After several trips through just about every alley Luxor had to offer the horses began to tire, and so Pegasus shouted up to Malik that they should be getting on to the pier. In responce Malik turned his horse's nose west again, and very soon they immerged onto the bank of the Nile River. About 100 yards upstream they could see the jeep and the rest of the horses just reaching the pier. 

Malik glanced back at them, and due to some unspoken challenge he drew Maritza to a halt. Pegasus trotted their stallion up beside him so that they stood together. "Okay Malik, one... two..." 

"THREE!" Malik shouted, and both of them set their horses off in one final sprint that would determine the "winner". Cynthia squealed and hugged Pegasus tightly, and he laughed loudly in responce. 

Angeline was the first to catch on to what they were doing, and she began shouting and jumping up and down, waving her hands over her head. Soon enough everyone was watching and cheering as Malik and his mare skidded to a stop just before Pegasus, Cynthia, and the grey stallion. Both Crawfords slid down from the panting horse amidst laughter, and Pegasus held out his arms so that Malik could slide down into them. 

"That was a good race Papa!" Malik said, hugging Pegasus around the neck and then squirming to be let down. Pegasus did so and the little boy ran over to Isis, excitedly asking his big sister if she'd seen him beat "Papa and Mama" in a horse race. 

Meanwhile Karim and Shaadi lowered a long ramp from the back of the boat to the shore, and Shen slowly drove the jeep up and onto the big deck. Everyone climbed aboard after them and Karim cast off. For awhile everyone stood by the stern, waving and yelling at Najib, who stood on the bank with the horses, ready to lead them back to the stables at the Abdul-Ishtar house. 

Well, everyone except Malik, who was sitting in the exact center of the deck with a rather green look on his face. "Urp... water..." Apparently, while the little Egyptian had no fear of snake or scorpion, water was not exactly his strong suit. 

After roughly twenty minutes Karim brought them close to the other shore and Rashiid hopped off to secure the boat. Once it was tied down they again lowered the ramp and Shen backed off the boat. 

"Now then," Pegasus said cheerily, holding out a hand to help Angeline down from the boat. "All that's left is a nice five mile walk to the dig." Everyone stared at him, and he sweatdropped a little. "What? I'm serious!" 

"He is serious." Shaadi spoke up. "The site we've chosen to start at is about five or five-and-a-half miles back from the bank of the Nile." 

"Rashiid, you've been there. Why don't you take Shen and Angeline on up ahead." Pegasus said. "You and Shen can start setting up some of the tents and Angeline can..." he floundered for a moment, unsure of just what, exactly, it was pregnant women did. "Angeline can rest." 

Angeline snorted a little, but climbed into the jeep's passenger seat. "I've done nothing _but_ rest..." she muttered. Shen chuckled and climbed into the back with the bags and boxes of food and water while Rashiid hopped into the driver's seat. 

As they revved the engine and drove off, Sugoroku groaned a little and made a face. "Now I regret not keeping in shape." 

"I'm fitter then you old chap." Arthur boasted smuggly, taking off his hat briefly to wipe off the sweat already starting to form on his forehead. 

"Oh you are, are you?" Sugoroku asked, a mysterious gleam in his eyes. "How about we make a little wager then?" 

"...Intresting." Arthur admitted. "What sort of wager?" 

Sugoroku debated for a moment. "Whoever arrives at the dig site more tired out will have to do part of the other's work for the first week we're here. Pegasus can be the judge." 

"Deal!" 

The two older men shook hands happily, and then started off in the direction that the jeep had departed. Shaadi ran to catch up with them, lest they inadvertantly get off course, and Malik bounced along behind them with Isis trailing after. Cynthia and Pegasus took the rear, and Pegasus sweatdropped a little. "How'd I get pulled into that?" he wondered aloud. Cynthia just shrugged and tried to cover the grin on her face. 

Thankfully everyone had brought full water bottles with them, for the hike was long and tiring. After about the first half an hour Malik started to whine until someone picked him up. From then on he was almost always on either Pegasus's or Shaadi's shoulders, although Cynthia and Arthur both took turns carrying him as well. They walked for the most part in silence, with only the scorpions and an occational snake to keep them on their toes. You really had to watch where you stepped in Egypt. 

After about an hour Isis smacked at something on the side of her neck, then scowled at the miniscule bug guts on her hand. "Stupid sand fleas...." 

~*~

Luckily for the group walking, the fact that they were constantly moving was keeping the sand fleas and other buggies off. Shen and Rashiid were working up a good sweat constructing tents, and they were attracting hordes of bugs. Every few seconds one or the other of them would stop working for a moment to slap and some random part of their anatomy. This was usually followed by a colorful amount of cursing at said bugs. For the first few minutes Angeline sat in the shade of the large, open-sided pavilion which had been the first thing they put up and laughed at them. Then the bugs began to get at her too, so she desided to stroll through what was going to be their home for the next several months. 

On a side note to the narrative, since this pavilion is going to be rather important to the story from here on, I shall describe it in a bit more detail. The top was a light yellow and striped with white, made to reflect the sun away, and was open-sided for wind to blow through while still affording shade. Several long tables were set up to form a 'U' shape, with chairs set at each of them. One table was reserved for eating and drinking, another for pottery, jeweralry, and other restoration projects, and the third for just lounging and socializing. Now, this pavilion was meant as the common room for the archaeologists. This is where many future meetings and bonding experiences would take place. But that is a long while in the future still, so I shall return to the present day. 

The dig site was indeed a good one. About 100 yards from where the tent complex would be (as soon as Shen and Rashiid stopped cursing at bugs and got it set up) several stone collumns rose from the sand. Four of them, which formed the corners of a square, were broken and worn although the very faintest of carvings could still be made out. Standing upright in the center of the square formed by the pillars was a tall granite obelisk with carvings, clear, sharp carvings, all down the sides. It was almost as if the obelisk were much newer then the pillars that surrounded it. Other traces of foundations and monuments were scattered around all over, but these were the most prominent. They'd been uncovered in a recent sand storm after being burried for who knew how long, and Pegasus had managed to grab the site for his own team before any one else could get there before them. It was unexcavated by any modern archaeologist. They would be the first. 

It was to this obelisk that Angeline wandered, still chuckling at her husband and new friend. Running her fingers across the granite, she traced the hieroglyphics. Although it looked newer, she judged the obelisk to be the same age as the pillars that surrounded it, just better preserved. Her trained eye detected the style of hierogyphs that hadn't been used since the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty. If the obelisk was a forgery, it was a good one. More likely it had been covered by the sand soon after it was made, and had been protected all these thousands of years. Pursing her lips slightly Angeline squinted up at the writing nearest the top, which was about four feet over her head. The entire obelisk, pointed top included, was about eleven or twelve feet tall. She was fluent in hieroglyphics, but a little rusty. 

" 'I stand and guard the gate...' " she muttered, reading the carvings outloud to herself. " ' No one shall pass that... something something... the Pharoah's _kaa_ shall guide him... something... in this, his sacred city of Ankhera. All in this city shall be... something... and the Pharoah shall show them all his power... something something... lest the Evil Ones outlive us all. ' " 

She shivered slightly, rubbing her hands up and down her arms despite the heat of the day. Backing away from the obelisk her heel caught on something half burried in sand. Blinking in surprise she squatted as best she could and dug the loose sand away until she was able to pry the object that had tripped her out of the ground. It was a limestone chip, the same sort of rock the surrounding pillars were made of, and was about eight inches roughly square. It seemed that some ancient artist had used it for sketching practice. A handsome face stared back at her, his eyes wide and his mouth curved back in a sort of secretive grin, as if he knew something she didn't. Beside it was a cartouche bearing a name, but the ink was faded and slightly smeared. 

Angeline stared at it for a moment, then glanced back up at the obelisk. Was this the face of the Pharoah mentioned? She brushed away some of the dust and dirt on the limestone chip, trying to make out the faded writing. "Bel... um... Bel um Fal." 

The child inside of her moved in a peculiar way, almost as if it started in surprise, and a strange feeling came over Angeline. Slowly she carried the chip back toward the tent, absently rubbing her belly with her other hand. Both men noticed her and hurried over to meet her in the shade of the tent. "Angeline, are you okay?" 

Angeline nodded, still looking at the stone fragment in her hands. After a moment or two she handed it wordlessly to Shen, and rested both hands over her swollen belly. "Something happened, but not bad. I feel..." she paused, trying to find words to describe it as the men stared at the stone portrait of the proud, regal, and yes, pharonic face. A small smile played across her face. "I feel almost blessed, somehow, as if I _know_ we're meant to be here, that what we're doing is right. Fate led us here for a reason, and I don't think we have any choice in the matter anymore." 

Little did she know how very right she was. 

()()()()() 

WSJ: And so ends chapter 6. :p More and more plot is coming together for this, so stay tuned! 

God bless minna-san! 


	7. Wonderful Things

WSJ: *curled up on a beanbag in the corner, her headphones over her ears, apparently asleep* 

Kaze & Chibi-Malik: Oo; *exchange puzzled glances* 

Kaze: Sooo... What's up with SJ? 

Chibi-Malik: *shrugs* 

Mystery voice: Jeez, you two really are pathetic... 

Chibi-Malik & Kaze: *turn to see none other then... YamiBakura?* 

Kaze: Wait, what're you doing here? 

Yami Bakura: *scowls and holds up a CD case* [sarcastic] SJ-sama [/sarcastic] managed to overdose herself on music, and is therefore unable to coherantly write a thing. And since I'm not needed around here for at least a dozen more chapters, I figured I'd help out and get some paid overtime. 

Kaze: *leans forward and plucks the CD case out of Yami Bakura's hands* The Phantom of the Opera? Ra, no wonder she passed out... She's completely OBSESSED with this musical... *sweatdrop* Not to mention the fact she hasn't slept in two days... 

WSJ: *in the corner, muttering in her sleep* Past the point of no return... (her favorite Phantom song) *rolls over and unconciously adjusts her ear phones* 

Kaze: *sighs in relief* At least I'm getting a break from all the glomping... 

Yami Bakura: *nods* Disclaimer? 

Kaze: Why should I? 

Yami Bakura: *smirks* I could send you to the Shadow Realm. 

Kaze: ... And that would scare me... why? 

Yami Bakura: Good point. *scowls again and crosses his arms* SJ doesn't own YGO. Najib and Karim are hers, but they're weaklings and don't matter. *pauses as a faint cry of "Injustice!" rings through the air and smirks* Anyway, let's move on before Wufei finds out what I did to his hair gel. 

Kaze: ¬¬ ....Right. Since SJ is asleep she obviously can't answer specific reviews, but she does have a few of the questions written down, which Yami B and I will answer as best we can. *glances over the paper SJ left for them* 

_On the matter of Bel um Fal:_ Hmm... I thought more people would get this hint. ^^; Since some did and some didn't, I'll just say it. In the manga Bel um Fal is supposedly Yami Yuugi's "real name", probably his throne name (Egyptian pharaohs had at least two (sometimes more) names, their birth name and their throne name, which they were given when crowned pharaoh). 

_On the matter of the buggies:_ v_v; Evil bugs. I feel your pain HCG. And yes, Haga would be rather mad at them for squishing his "precious pretties". (On a side note: 26 days until Return of the King premieres! YAY!!!! *bashes movie-verse Faramir and watches him fly* ^-^) 

_On the matter of the carving on the obelisk:_ Yes, it will be significant. ^^ 

_On the matter of foreshadowing:_ Yes, there was a _ton_ of foreshadowing last chapter, and there's plenty more where that came from. :p 

_On the matter of long stories:_ .....You'd better _believe_ this is going to be a long one! They have to excavate the site, find what they have to find (like it's really hard to figure out what it is they'll find...), go on a couple handy trust-building side-quests, go to Japan, save the world, and all that jazz. YES we are looking at a long fic here. ^^ I've written 7 chapters on the first 4 _days_, for crying out loud!!! 

_On the matter of sourses:_ This is, undeniably, going to be a fic that has a lot to do with archaeology. To make it seem more realistic, I've recently begun reading up on archaeology, most notably the classic text _Gods, Graves, and Scholars_. 

Kaze: *puts down paper and sweatdrops* Jeez... 

Yami Bakura: *looks around* Hey, wasn't there a little blond munchkin hanging around when I got here? 

Kaze: O_o; *looks around franticly* Oh shit... If we've lost Chibi-Malik SJ's going to _kill_ us! 

Yami Bakura: *eyes the sleeping authoress, then gulps very quietly* 

()()()()() 

Hot Sands Warm Arms 

Chapter 7 -- Wonderful Things 

_Quote of the Chapter:_

"God bless Mommy and Matchbox cars.   
God bless Dad and thanks for the stars.   
God hears "amen" wherever we are:   
And I love you."  
~(Dixie Chicks, "Godspeed, Sweet Dreams") 

It was about an hour later when the group who were walking finally stumbled into the camp, which Shen and Rashiid had finally finished setting up. Isis was slightly winded, but was used to walking in the Egyptian heat, so she wasn't nearly as tired as some of the others. Shaadi too was used to walking in the desert, but he was carrying Malik on his shoulders. Pegasus was slightly more tired, but it was quite obvious that Arthur and Sugoroku were pretty close to falling over. Unfortunately, both were stubborn as mules. 

"So, Pegasus-san," Arthur huffed, hobbling over to the silver-haired millionaire with Sugoroku just behind him. "Who would you say is more tired out, me or him?" 

Pegasus sweatdropped. "Ahhh... I think," he said carefully, trying to be diplomatic. "I do believe that both of you are about to collapse. Perhaps you should take a seat in the shade?" 

Sugoroku nodded, almost falling off his feet as he did. "I think he's... *huff puff* right Arthur." 

Arthur sniffed and put his nose in the air. "I think you just don't want to admit you're more tired then I am." 

Sugoroku smiled wryly as the both of them moved toward the pavilion, where Angeline was sitting hunched over one of the tables. "Could be... Ho, what have you got there Angeline-san?" 

Angeline glanced up from where she'd been banding over several limestone fragments. After Shen and Rashiid had gotten over the first shock the three of them had trooped out to the obelisk, and had uncovered a couple more of the chips around its base. There were now four in total, each of them bearing different pictures. The first of them, which bared the pharaoh's name, seemed to be the best of the lot however. The second showed the profiled face of a man with slitted, shrewd eyes and close-cropped dark hair. A few hieroglyphs, which could have been the man's name, ran along the side, but they were too smudged to make out save for the small marking hieroglyph that meant "priest". 

The third chip wasn't a drawing of a person, but what looked to be building plans of some sort. The ground floor for what seemed to be a temple was plainly laid out, complete with possitioning of alters and collumns to hold up the ceiling. This would prove to be a valuable asset if they happened to come across the temple in their excavations, but now it was little help, for there was no writing to tell them even which god or goddess the temple was dedicated to. 

The fourth and final one was another drawing of the Pharaoh Bel um Fal, a full body one this time. Next to him stood a woman wearing the stair-stepped crown of the goddess Isis, and she had her hands resting on his shoulders. Indeed, the woman seemed to _be_ the goddess Isis, she was even wearing the same robes the goddess was always depicted in, but the face was wrong. 

"My god!" Shaadi exclaimed, coming up behind them to see what they were looking at. "Where did you find these?!" 

"By the obelisk over there." Rashiid grunted, coming into the pavilion carrying another of the limestone pieces, Shen right behind him. "I think that's all were going to find without doing some serious digging." he said, swiping his hand across his forehead. 

By now everyone was crowded around the table, clammering to get a look at the five flat stones. The fifth one which Rashiid had just set down with its mates was of a man with a set of three crossed scars down one cheek, a scowling look on his face. Below him was enscribed the name "Kuru Eruna". As Angeline looked at that one she felt her baby almost tremble inside her, and she put a calming hand against her belly again. Goodness, the baby was very active today. 

"Ahh, I see," Arthur said, bending over slightly to inspect the stone which bore the priest's face. "Sometimes artists and relief carvers would use spare pieces of limestone to practice their technique or perseption of a certain subject belore they set it into stone. That obelisk over there must have been a dump of some kind, to judge by all the limestone "practice slabs" you found." 

"I'm not so sure," Angeline objected, her hand still rubbing her belly. She could feel her child's heart beating fast, and wondered briefly whether or not she should talk to Isis. It couldn't hurt. "The inscription talks about protecting the pharaoh's city. Maybe a sort of tomb marker?" 

"It's inscribed?" Sugoroku and Arthur asked, almost at once. Angeline nodded, and they looked at each other in delight. They were, after all, the language experts of the team. 

Isis saw the look in their eyes and tsk tsked them. "No going out there now, it's almost supper time anyway. And it will still be there tomorrow, I can almost guarantee it." The two looked disappointed, but nodded. 

Pegasus had left briefly, but now he returned with his sketch book and several pencils in hand. He took a seat across from Angeline and started sketching out the nearest of the tablets, the one which bore the pharaoh and the goddess. 

"Ohhh you," Isis said, frowning slightly. "Jumping into work already?" 

Pegasus just shrugged and kept drawing. 

Cynthia giggled and pointed to Pharaoh Bel um Fal's image. "Look at his hair! Please tell me that's some sort of headdress." 

"I don't know," Isis said, leaning closer. "It's wild, but it _does_ seem to be his hair. Otherwise he'd be wearing the double-crown. He couldn't if that was really his hair, because it wouldn't fit." 

"Maybe he wasn't pharaoh," Shaadi suggested. "He could be just a high ranking official." 

Angeline shook her head, in agreement with Isis. "No, because if he was just an official his name wouldn't be encased in a cartouge, and he wouldn't be pictured with the goddess Isis either, except perhaps on his coffin or tomb walls, but even then Isis would just have him by the hand leading him to see Osirus, not with her arm around his shoulders." 

That stopped Shaadi, and he frowned slightly. "Yes, you're right..." he muttered. 

"Hey!" Everyone turned to see Malik, who was pouting a little. "I want to see too!" 

Everyone laughed, realizing that they'd been so absorbed in their good fortune of a find that they'd forgotten the fact that the little boy wasn't tall enough to see, and couldn't have anyway, the way they were crowding around the table. Still laughing, Angeline held her arms out to him. "Come here you. In a few months you won't fit on my lap, but I can hold you well enough for now." 

Malik happily climbed up onto her lap, but as soon as he caught sight of the tablets he froze, his lavendar eyes wide. Everyone else had gone back to studying the stones, so it was only Angeline that noticed. "Malik, what's wrong?" she asked quietly. 

Malik put out a shaking hand to point at the scarred, smirking youth who bore the name Kuru Eruna. "I - I know him!" 

Angeline blinked. "You _what_?" 

"Not... not exactly _know_..." Malik fumbled, trying to put his feelings into words. "But I seen him before! I dreamed once that he was talkin' to me an' another boy who looked like him," he pointed at Kuru Eruna again "But wif longer hair and no scar. It... it was kinda scary, but not in a bad way..." He shook his head, then laid it against Angeline's shoulder and yawned. "I hungrey." 

Angeline gaped at the little boy, then carefully got to her feet. "All right then, let's go find something to eat. And... Malik? If you have any more dreams, tell me, okay?" She had no idea why, but Angeline thought that maybe, just maybe, the dreams of a little Egyptian boy could be important. 

Malik nodded. "I will, I promise." 

After Angeline managed to persuade everyone to leave the tablets alone long enough to eat, she and Cynthia (who didn't have much of an intrest in them other then to laugh at the pharaoh's spikey hair) started unloading the jeep of its boxes and bags and putting them in the owners' tents. Shen and Angeline had a tent to themselves, as did Pegasus and Cynthia. Arthur, Rashiid, Shaadi, and Sugoroku each had a tent to themselves (although admittedly their tents were smaller than the ones the couples had), and Isis and Malik shared the last tent. 

Finally everyone conceeded to leave the tablets for the night as the sun began to set. Malik was tucked into bed, and several lamps, hanging from the corners of the pavilion and one on each table, were lighted. As the men sat around the table talking and laughing, Angeline caught Isis by the arm and led her toward her and Shen's tent. Cynthia, her curiosity aroused, followed. Once the three of them were settled in various seats around the tent (ranging from the cots to a metal folding chair to a wooden packing crate) Angeline looked anxiously at Isis. "Isis, how good are you at pre-birth check-ups?" 

Isis and Cynthia looked at her in alarm. "Good enough," Isis said after recovering from her initial shock. "Why, what's wrong?" 

Angeline shook her head. "I don't know, maybe nothing, but baby's heart's been beating really fast all day, and he keeps kicking and jerking." 

Isis's face had been growing more and more alarmed, and she quickly excused herself to sprint to her tent and grab her medical bag. After listening to the baby's heart with her stethescope and poking and prodding various places on Angeline's belly, Isis sat back and breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm pretty sure nothing serious is wrong Angel, but you've _got_ to take it easy from now on. No more running around in the heat and digging up stone tablets like a dog. From now on I want you to take it easy. Relax, stay in the pavilion, and watch Malik. I mean it Angel! If that baby of yours is born prematurely then there's not much we can do to save it, because this is Egypt and not America or Japan. There's no hospitals worth it within a hundred miles of here, so you've _got_ to make sure that baby's born healthy." 

Angeline nodded solemnly. "All right, I promise," she sighed. "Although I don't like it. I'd rather be out there digging things up with the rest of you." 

Cynthia laughed and put a hand on Angeline's shoulder. "If it makes you feel better Angel, how about Isis and I take turns staying with you in the pavilion. That way you wouldn't be by yourself with just Malik, and you wouldn't feel so left out. Besides, the way the menfolk are talking it's like they expect artifacts to jump up and wave at them from all over the place. I think soon enough you'll have plenty of pottery to piece together." 

Angeline's eyes lit up at the mention of the restoration work she loved so much. "You really think so? Gosh, that'd be great. Thanks a lot you two." 

"Hey," Isis asked, winking at her "What are friends for?" 

The next weeks passed in a blur, and indeed, Cynthia's prediction came true. Almost immediately they encountered a huge cache of pottery in the remains of what seemed to be a potter's shop just west of the obelisk. They quickly discovered that the marker which had confronted them that first day was not a grave marker, but that of a city gate. And so it was that the archaeologists, Karim and Najib (who joined them at the site the next day) and all their workers found themselves in the middle of an entire ancient _city_, completely unknown before they began to excavate. They became almost instantly famous, and their discoveries sent huge repercussions through the archaeological world. 

The shifty-eyed priest they'd seen on one of the tablets turned out to be Seth, the High Priest of Amun-Ra and also Pharaoh Bel um Fal's friend, it seemed. There was a circle of six priests (as well as an elderly advisor) surrounding Pharaoh Bel um Fal, and it seemed that Seth was the most powerful of them. Or at least the most famous and/or most arrogant, because he was the one most often mentioned in any inscriptions they found (although the Priest-Mage Mahaado was also frequently mentioned). 

But with as much as they were learning, almost nothing had been turned up about the scarred youth who'd so frightened Malik the first day. It was discovered, however, that Kuru Eruna was not the boy's name, but apparently the name of a villiage made up mostly of thieves that had lain about twenty miles north-east of the city. Pegasus already had plans to go there to excavate as soon as they finished in the city. Although, the way things were going, it didn't seem like they'd be leaving the city anytime soon. They'd been there for weeks already and had barely even scratched the surface. 

The city's name was Ankhara, which roughly translated into "Ra lives". Bel um Fal was indeed the pharaoh of the city, and in fact of all of Egypt. At first the archaeologists had bulked at the idea of an unknown pharaoh, falling back on the fact that no "Bel um Fal" was ever recorded on any of the Kings Lists, the giant lists of pharaohs that sometimes were carved in temples. But it was also pointed out that the names of Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, and Tutankhamun, perhaps the most famous kings of Egypt, were also missing from the Kings Lists. Slowly, the world came to accept the idea of an ancient, unknown ruler who apparently took the throne for a very short time just after Tutankhamon's death but before his sucessor Ay could take the throne. What evidense they'd turned up so far showed that Bel um Fal's reign had lasted roughly ten years and, like Tutankhamon, he'd been crowned when he was very young. His reign was one that was frought with turmoil, but little did Pegasus or anyone else know how frought it had been. 

But they were soon to find out. 

"I can't take it anymore!" Pegasus complained one night as the archaeologists sat around the table in the pavilion. The sun had just set, and all around them their Arabian workman were beginning to build fires to cook their dinners and talk with each other. It was early August, roughly two months since they'd started digging. Their luck had been amazing, and already museums were beginning to clamour to buy the artifacts they were constantly digging up. 

"Can't take what dear?" Cynthia asked from her place behind her husband, where she was standing and absently playing with his hair. 

"There are too many artifacts for me to accurately record and sketch them all." Pegasus complained. "We need another trained artist. That way they can concentrate on all the mundane things, and I can work on these monsters that keep popping up in the carvings." 

About two weeks ago, in the hottest part of July, Malik had been wandering around when he came across what he thought to be a cave. Thinking it would be cool inside, and after first checking to be sure no snakes or scorpions had decided to take up residence within, Malik had headed in to cool down a little. Sure, the pavilion was shady, but it was still above ground. Caves were much cooler, being underground. 

What Malik had found was a whole labyrinth of chambers and passages, all deliberately built and carved. These tunnels were kept a secret from the workman, only the archaeologists, Malik, Karim, and Najib knew of them. It seemed that the chambers were some sort of underground temple, and almost all the carvings on the walls made reference to monsters, or something called the "Dark Games". Pegasus had taken a special intrest in these monsters, and once he read that the priests had sealed said monsters into stone tablets and then used them to duel each other, he'd been hit by inspiration. Now he used the monsters as models for a card game of his own devising, and it was quickly becoming his pet project. 

Another reason the workman hadn't been told of the underground labyrinth was that many of the chambers were unplundered, and were sometimes almost literally heaped with gold. Apparently these secret underground passages had also doubled as the pharaoh's treasury. And let's face it, no matter how kind and scrupilous an Arabian _thinks_ he is, put him in a room with large amounts of money and his primal, tomb robbing instincts will spring to the surface. 

Shaadi looked up from where he was playing solitaire with a deck of playing cards and looked over at Isis, who was looking back at him with a sly smile on her face. "A trained artist, you said?" she asked. "Shaadi's cousin, who lives just over in Luxor, is a very good artist. She's in Cairo right now for school, but she should be able to come back without a problem. I'm sure Kaela would be happy to come and give us help!" 

And to the surprise of the entire table (save Shaadi and Isis), at the other end of the table where he'd been writing down the day's finding in the log book, Rashiid's face went beat red. 

()()()()() 

WSJ: *still asleep, but is starting to wake up* 

Kaze: *almost frantic* Yami B! That munchkin could be anywhere by now! We're _dead_ if SJ thinks we lost him! 

Yami Bakura: X_x; ... Bai! *runs out the door* 

Kaze: Oo; *face faults* 

A few notes on the chapter: 

Mwahahaha..! Yes, Kaela is the OC I'm planning on hooking Rashiid up with. ^^ You'll get to meet her next chapter. 

Yes, the Kings Lists exist, yes, Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, and Tutankhamun aren't on it. Yes, I'm trying to make this as acurate as possible. No, there was no pharaoh between Tut and Ay, but where else am I supposed to stick Yam-Yam? Oh, and that's another thing. According to Kazuki Takahashi, Yami really did rule sometime in the 18th Dynasty, so I'm accurate on that too. 

Yes, the youth with the scar that freaked Malik out is who you think he is. Yes, Kuru Eruna was really a villiage of thieves in Yami's Egypt. Yes, this fic will contain spoilers for the Egypt Arc of the manga. Speaking of the Egypt Arc, if anyone has any info at all, let me know. I already know a good deal, but I still want to make sure I'm as accurate as possible. 

If anyone caught the archaeological pun in the chapter title and correctly names the source, Chibi-Malik will personally deliver them a cookie. ....Once I FIND him, that is. 

Yes, Pegasus's card game is what you think it is. Mwaha. 

Oh hey, anyone know if Cynthia, Rashiid, Shaadi, and Amane have official birth dates? I have Malik's, Isis's, and Pegasus's, (and a few other people that haven't shown up yet, such as Jou & them) but I need the others. Particularly Shaadi's. *sigh* Help? Anyone? 

God bless minna-san! 


	8. An Artist's Passion

Yami Bakura: *has his neck craned upward so he can watch whatever's going on above him* Iiiiiyyaaaaah! *dodges to the side as a chandelier crashes down where he'd just been standing* KAZE YOU RAT! I'LL GET YOU FOR TELLING SJ I WAS HERE!!!!!!!!! 

Kaze: *can't really dodge falling chandeliers, as he's chained up, and is therefore hiding under SJ's desk* Really. I wasn't about to take the fall for you tomb robber. 

Yami Bakura: *still dodging chandeliers* It's as much your fault as it is mine! By _Ra_, where is she _getting_ all these things?! 

Voice from above: You lost my muse!!! You LOST my adorable little Chibi-muse! I'll KILL you!!! 

*The camera pans up to reveal SJ in the rafters, tossing chandeliers down upon Yami Bakura with an enraged expression on her face. Someone in a long black cape and a half-mask is standing next to her, and handing her the various lighting implements* 

Yami Bakura: *dodges another chandelier and shakes his fist at the Phantom* Traitor! Since when do you work for _her_? 

The Phantom of the Opera: ^^ What can I say? I don't think I've ever had an honest to goodness fangirl before. 

SJ: *squeals and does indeed latch onto the Phantom, nearly causing them both to tumble out of the rafters* ^o^ Phantom-san!! 

Yami Bakura: *scowls and crosses his arms* Anyway, it's not MY fault the little brat ran away. And furthermore- *gets hit on the head with a chandelier and falls over* My, what pretty little birdies... *passes out* 

SJ: *hops down from the rafters with the Phantom (who, in case you haven't figured it out, is her newest muse) close behind* Kaze, are you sure you have no idea where Chibi-Malik might have gone? I kinda need him. 

Kaze: *causiosly coming out from under the desk* No, I really don't. Sorry. Don't drop anything on me please, HCG might not like that. 

Phantom: *bows to SJ* Diahorah and I can go find him. 

Kaze: Oo; Dia-who? 

SJ: *either didn't hear or just ignores Kaze* Phantom-san! That's a great idea! *snaps her fingers* 

*A small, humanoid figure appears hovering over SJ's right shoulder. It's wearing a minature Egyptian pleated knee-length hip-wrap and a beaded collar, along with sandels. Although only a foot or so high its, his bare chest is slightly muscled, and so are his arms. His head is a falcon-head however, rather resembling the god Horus save the fluffy white angel wings that portruded from his back. He giggles slightly and hugs SJ's neck* 

SJ: ^^ *pets the little... creature* I tend to compact my muses for storage purposes. This is Chibi-Horus. Like Chibi-Malik he can't talk in this form, but is really very cute. Unfortunately, we don't need Chibi-Horus right now, we need Diahorah. *she pokes the chibi-god on her shoulder* Hear that? Transform and go with Phantom-san please, I really need my muse back. 

Chibi-Horus: *saluts smartly and hops off her shoulder onto the ground. There he grows much, much bigger until he's about seven feet tall and more muscular than a certain Californian governer. His wings morph into all out angels wings, so big they almost sweep the ground. Now he really _does_ look like Horus except, of course, for the wings* 

SJ: *resists the urge to glomp* Get going you two! And I want my chibi back _intact_. You hear me Phantom-san? 

Phantom: *hides the Punjab lasso behind his back* ^-^ Yes ma'am. *he and the newly-transformed Diahorah leave to find Chibi-Malik* 

Kaze: Oo; What the hell? 

Yami Bakura: *groans and sits up, pushing the chandelier off him. He rubs his head as he looks around* SJ, I knew you were a weird authoress, but creating your own kaa-beast? 

SJ: ^^; I felt left out. Your past self has Diabouno, Seto's past-self has a kaa-beast with a name I can't pronounce... I wanted one too. Plus, he's really handy for chasing off bullies. :p 

Yami Bakura: *sighs and rubs his head again* Can we get on with the actual chapter? 

Kaze: For once I agree. We've already taken up, what, three pages of you dropping chandeliers on grave-boy over there? 

SJ: ^^ So we have. I don't own YGO. Karim, Najib, and Kaela are mine. *snickers* Hehehe... You know, I just realized, if Isis and Shaadi get married, then Rashiid will be dating his adopted half-cousin-in-law... 

Kaze & Yami Bakura: Oo; Whaaaaaat? 

SJ: *snickers* You'll see... Oh yeah, no review responces this chapter except for one. Indigo-san, how is it you're ALWAYS the first to review when I put a new chapter up? 0o; 

()()()()() 

Hot Sands Warm Arms 

Chapter 8 -- An Artist's Passion 

_

Quote of the Chapter:

_

"I don't need your pity! I make a fine shopping-for-clothes-person-spirit-thing! Haha, jealous are we?!"   
~(Yami Bakura; Angelforceus; A Day of Shopping) 

"So what's this Kaela person like?" Angeline asked, eager for another female to join them. She, Cynthia, and Isis were still the only women around, as all the workers were male and they all left their wives at home when they came out to work. "How old is she?" 

Shaadi scratched his chin in thought, allowing Shen to snatch up his deck of cards and start shuffling them for a quick round of poker with Pegasus, Sugoroku, and Arthur. Over the past few weeks the men had been playing poker more and more, betting with either small rocks or tatters of cloth in place of poker chips. So far Sugoroku was up the most, with Rashiid right behind him, and surprisingly enough Pegasus had very poor luck when it came to cards and was farthest in the hole. Occationally the women would join them, and among the three Isis was most up, nearly passing Sugoroku. Of course, no one would ever hold any of the others to their debts, but it was fun to keep track anyway. 

"Well now," Shaadi said, "It's been awhile since Kaela came to visit. How long Isis? Two years? Three?" 

"Two, I think," Isis said, trying to keep a squirming Malik on her lap. "No Malik, you can't go sit with Angeline. She has no lap anymore. Try and sit with her and you'll squish the baby." This wasn't true, of course, but it sure quieted Malik down. The little Egyptian was exstatic that his new baby brother or sister would be here in just two short months, and constantly asked Angeline why she couldn't have the baby _now_, to which Angeline always gave a laughing and somewhat silly answer, such as "Oh but Malik, if I had her now, you'd hug her so much she'd suffocate!" 

"That would make her..." Shaadi frowned slightly. "Twenty-one, I think. She's quiet and tends to keep to herself, but put her together with her half brother and they'll start playing pranks." His frown deepened a little. "That could be a problem..." 

Isis snorted her laughter, casting a sly look at the still-blushing Rashiid, who was desperately pretending he couldn't hear their conversation. "I remember when Rashiid and Malik and I first came to live with Shaadi. Kaela and her half-brother and their mutual father were staying with Shaadi at the time, and the two of them put frogs in my bed and lizards in Rashiid's." 

"That was _not_ funny," Rashiid rumbled, trying without success to banish the color from his cheeks as everyone looked on curiously. "One of the darn things bit me!" 

"Well, they weren't poisonous..." Shaadi said, sweatdropping a little. "We may have to warn Najib and Kaela against anything too extravagent though. We don't want to scare our friends off." He winked at Pegasus and the others, but Shen was frowning slightly. 

"Wait..." Shen muttered, brushing some of his purple bangs away from his forehead. "Najib is Kaela's brother?" 

"Half-brother." Isis corrected. "Karim is their father, although they have different mothers." 

"Why didn't you ever tell us Karim-san was your uncle?" Pegasus demanded, looking up from where he was sketching another of his monsters. 

Shaadi had the grace to look sheepish. "It never really came up." 

"I'll go in to town tomorrow and call her." Isis promised. "Anyone feel like coming along?" 

"I will," Cynthia said cheerfully. 

"Me too." Malik spoke up, craning his neck to look up at his sister. "I wanna go to town too!" 

"I would go," Angeline said with a good-natured grimace. "But you've all but confined me to bed rest." 

"And with good reason." Isis shook her finger at Angeline in mock-severity. "That baby of yours needs all the rest it can get!" Angeline sighed, but nodded in agreement. 

"I'll tell Karim to get the boat ready to cross the river," Rashiid murmered, rising from his seat. Everyone stared after him as he left the tent, until Sugoroku finally ventured to ask "What was that about?" 

Shaadi chuckled as he took his cards back from Shen and began to shuffle. "When Rashiid and Kaela first met they were sweethearts. They haven't seen each other in a good year or so now, though. Poker?" 

"I'm in," Pegasus declared, laying aside his pad and pencil in favor of a hand of cards. "This will be good for Rashiid. He's too quiet for his own good." The others nodded in agreement, but the thought of calm, stoical Rashiid in love made Cynthia burst into giggles. 

The next morning Isis, Malik, and Cynthia rose early and left for the east bank. They took a quick stop at Shaadi's house to pick up a couple more of Angeline's loose maternity dresses, and then Isis excused herself to go send a telegram to Kaela, leaving Malik and his "mommy" to wander Luxor. 

Cynthia made a beeline for the bazaar, and Malik trailed behind her, shouting greetings in Arabic to those faces he recognized. Most of the shopkeepers spoke English at least passively, and by the time Isis found them again Cynthia was carrying quite a few parcels. 

"What is all this?" Isis asked, sweatdropping a little as she observed the packages piled in Cynthia's arms. 

"I went shopping." Cynthia declared happily, hefting her packages triumphantly. "Just look at this adorable little baby blanket I found for Angeline! And aren't these earrings gorgeous? And this little statuette of Hathor! The shopkeeper said it's five thousand years old, but of course I don't believe that. But still, I just couldn't say no!" 

Isis sighed and shook her head ruefully. "I suppose it's a good thing you have plenty of money to spend, then..." 

"Funny..." Cynthia muttered as she and Isis headed toward where Malik had agreed to meet them. "Pegga always says the same thing..." She shrugged and then turned her cheery smile on Isis. "So you sent a telegram? When will we know if she's coming or not?" 

Isis shrugged. "I told her to just show up, if she could, so she should be here any time in the next two weeks." The two women came within sight of the house, and Isis stared in surprise at the small blond figure slouching on the front porch. "Malik! For heaven's sakes, you look like you rolled in the mud with the pigs!" 

The little boy pouted, kicking at the dust under his feet. "Tenre did it first..." he muttered sulkily. 

Isis sighed. "What am I to do with you? Come on, you can wash off in the Nile while we're crossing the river." 

Malik looked absolutely striken. "No Sissy please! Too much water!" 

"You should have thought of that when you rolled in the mud with Tenre and the pigs." she answered crisply, all too aware of Cynthia giggling hystericly beside her. "Come on now, the faster we get to the river the faster it'll be over with. I'll just hold you by the ankles and rinse you over the side of the boat, what do you say?" 

Malik planted his hands on his hips, glaring at his sister defiantly. "I say YOU need to go jump in the river, Sissy." 

Cynthia burst into full-fledged laughter, and Isis chuckled. "I don't think so Malik. You're going to have to get clean sooner or later. You don't want to make Angeline's baby sick, do you?" 

This shut Malik up quicker than lightning, and he all but bolted for the Nile. The excitement of not being the only little kid around had been knawing at him for months. Often Angeline woke up with his small form draped over her, Malik's head pillowed on her middle as he murmered quietly to the baby. When asked what he was talking about, Malik clammed up. Isis worried that Malik was prematurly teaching the poor child Arabic curses, but Angeline just laughed it off. 

As for the rest of the dig, there wasn't a single workman who didn't know the Sitt Angel, and there was quite a large betting pool going on the sex of the infant. In regards to the archaeologists themselves, Pegasus, Shen, Sugoroku, and Shaadi held firm that it was a boy, while Arthur, Rashiid, and Cynthia declared loudly that it was a girl. Isis and Angeline just smiled and refused comment, and Malik had made it clear long ago that he didn't care whether he got a new brother or sister. 

After Isis made sure that Malik got clean at the waters edge, the trip back to the dig was uneventful. They arrived right in the middle of a loud, rather rambuncious argument between Pegasus and Shen, of all people. They kept switching rapidly between English, Arabic, and Japanese, so one could hardly keep track of what was being said. As soon as they came within hearing distance, Malik clamped his hands over his ears and ran to half-hide behind Angeline, who was sitting calmly on the sidelines. All at once Shen took a swing at Pegasus, who retaliated in like. Within seconds the two men were on the ground, scuffling like little boys. Everyone else was anxiously trying to pull the them apart before someone really got hurt. 

"By Osirus, what happened?" Isis asked, her eyes wide as she hurried over to Angeline. Cynthia sprinted to her husband, trying to get the silver-haired millionaire to calm down. 

To Isis's surprise, Angeline chuckled. "They were discussing the betting pool again, and Pegasus asked what would happen if my child was born an it." She frowned deeply, a couple dark thunderclouds drifting over her head. "If Shen hadn't jumped up and given him a black eye, _I_ probably would have." 

Isis sighed, and Malik giggled. "It won't be an it!" he chirped, grinning up at his sister and Angeline. "It's a little boy!" 

"Malik dear," Angeline said, slightly puzzled. "I thought you didn't care whether or not I had a boy or a girl." 

"I don't." Malik shrugged, then reached out a small hand to pat Angeline's belly. "But it's a little boy. He told me so." 

"_Who_ told you so?" Isis asked, exchanging nervous glances with Angeline. 

"The man in my dreams," Malik said, slightly exasperated, as if they should already know this. "The one with the scar and really white hair. He told me that the baby was a boy." 

No more could be said, as Rashiid and Shaadi finally suceeded in breaking up the two combatants. Pegasus did indeed have a black eye, and Shen had a nice split lip. Both were breathing hard. "Where's my glasses?" Shen asked, and Sugoroku handed them to him from where they'd been recovered. They were miraculously intact, save for a slightly bent frame. 

"Now see here," Angeline said, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "No more of that! We're supposed to be a team! Shen, I appreciate you jumping in to save the honor of our child, but really, Pegasus was just joking around. And you," she turned to Pegasus himself, and to the surprise of all delivered a sound smack to the millionaire's cheek. "If you _ever_ talk about my baby like that again, I will beat you black and blue, so help me Ra!" She spun on her heel and stormed off. After a moment Shen ran after her, and to Pegasus's consternation Cynthia burst out laughing. 

~*~

It was several weeks later, around the first of September, that a battered old jeep drove into the camp, honking its horn. Isis looked up from where she and Angeline were working on reassembling an old, beaded necklace and gave a shout of recognition. "That's Kaela." she explained to Angeline. "You stay here. I'll go get her and then go figure out where the men are." 

She left the pavilion, and moments later came back with a young woman in her early twenties. She was finer boned then Isis, and a good deal shorter. Her glossy black hair was clipped at her shoulders, and her green eyes were turned shyly toward the ground. She was dressed in tan and dun digging clothes, just like the rest of them, and tall hiking boots. 

"Welcome!" Angeline said, turning away from the beadwork on the table in front of her. "I suppose you're Kaela?" The woman nodded, and Angeline held out her hand. "My name's Angeline Bakura, but please, call me Angel. My husband and I are together on this dig, and it's a pleasure to have another woman around at long last." Isis chuckled at that, and Kaela smiled. "Forgive me for not rising to greet you," Angeline continued, patting her stomach, "But I have strict orders from Isis that if I so much as twitch a finger I'll be confined to bedrest for the next month." 

Kaela giggled. "That sounds like Isis." she agreed. Her voice was soft and resonating, not so loud as Cynthia's, or so firm as Isis's, or so warm as Angeline's, but still a very pretty voice. Her Japanese was accented softly, but unlike her half-brother she could speak it. "My name's Kaela Abdul. It's a pleasure." 

Angeline waved her into a seat beside her. "The pleasure's all mine. I hear you're an artist?" And so Isis left them talking to go find the rest of the archaeologists, as well as Malik, who'd disappeared once again. He had a funny knack for that, disappearing whenever he was wanted. He was probably in the underground temple again. As much as they tried to keep him out of there, he just kept going back. 

Isis found the men easily enough, and Karim and Najib were there as well. Malik was not, so Isis sent Rashiid to go find him, and waited until he was out of ear shot to announce matter-of-factly to the others, "Kaela's here." 

"My sister's here? Finally!" Najib took off across the sands toward the pavilion, while the others followed leisurely. They came upon the pavilion just in time to see Najib and Kaela embrace. Everyone took seats, and Angeline and Isis abandoned their restoration of the necklace for the moment while everyone introduced themselves to Kaela. 

"I'm Pegasus Crawford," Pegasus said, last of all. "I'm the main artist on this expedition, and it was me that requested another one be brought in. We've discovered some very intresting carvings, and I want to concentrate more on them and leave the artifact cateloging to you." 

Kaela nodded and gave him one of her rare smiles. "That sounds good. I would love to see some of your work Mr. Crawford." 

"Please, just Pegasus." He handed her the sketch book he carried around with him almost everywhere, the one with the monsters and cards. She flipped through it, and her face lit up. "Oh, these are beautiful! Is it a card game?" 

"Well, it'll be there eventually, yes." Pegasus said ruefully. "I haven't had much time to work on it lately..." 

"You should find time!" she said, nodding. "This looks like it would be very fun! When it's finished, you should market it as an actual game." 

Pegasus's face lit up. "Now _there's_ an idea!" he said, rubbing his chin in thought. "A very good idea indeed. But what would we call it?" 

Everyone frowned in thought. For several minutes they just sat there, proposing and then discarding several names. Suddenly Cynthia's head jerked upward. "Wait koibito, the carvings! Didn't they say that the ancient priests used these monsters to fight each other? What about Duel Monsters?" 

Pegasus jumped up from his seat, pulling his wife close to him and spinning her in a circle before setting her down to give her a kiss full on the lips. "Oh Cynnie, that's a wonderful idea! Thank you!" Cynthia just giggled and gave him a kiss of her own. 

During this exchange, Malik and Rashiid had walked into the pavilion without anyone noticing. Rashiid froze, but Malik shrieked in happiness. "Auntie Kaela!" He ran toward her and hopped into her lap, and she laughed and gave him a hug. "It's good to see you too, little Malik. Where's your big brother?" 

Rashiid finally managed to unfreeze his tongue, and took a step forward. "Right here Kaela." 

Kaela stood up and turned, letting Malik down out of her arms. He ran to sit on Isis's lap while Rashiid and Kaela just stared at each other. A faint blush crossed Kaela's cheeks. "H-hello Rashiid. It's been awhile." 

"Too long." Rashiid stepped forward again and held out his arms to her. She hugged him tightly, and then they broke apart and took seats together, both of them blushing a bit. 

Angeline coughed quietly to break the silence. "I'm going to go take a walk. It's really hot in here. I need to cool down a little." 

Isis frowned as she started to get up from her seat. "That isn't a good idea Angel..." 

"Oh come off it," Angeline said, a frown of her own on her pretty face. "One walk won't hurt. I'll be back in twenty minutes, tops." Reluctantly Isis let her go, and she started off into the desert. Night was quickly coming on as the sun sank below the horizon, and the workmen had all broke for the day. Now they sat around in groups of six or seven, laughing and talking as they lit fires to cook their dinners. Everywhere Angeline passed, men called out to Sitt Angel, wishing health for her and for her child. She smiled gratefully at them all, occationally stopping for a moment to chat with the ones she knew. 

She was just wandering aimlessly, and didn't realize where she was going until she found herself past all the campfires, in the cave-like entrance to the underground temple. The moon was full, and cast plenty of light, but in the cave it was dark. Angeline started to turn away and head back, when a movement in the shadows of the cave caught the corner of her eye. "Hello?" she called tentatively. "Is someone there?" 

"Sitt Angel, may I have a word with you?" 

The voice was that of a man, speaking in Arabic. His speech was accented, but with what other language Angeline couldn't tell. Looking hard she could see him now, leaning casually against the wall of the cave. Thinking it was one of the workmen and worrying that he might have found the underground labyrinth despite all their efforts to hide it, she answered "Of course," 

The man pushed himself off the wall, and the moonlight glinted off of something sparkling around his neck. "Sitt Angel, do you know how important that baby of yours is? That son that you carry will one day change the fate of the world." 

"What are you talking about?" Angeline asked, her heart rising in her throat. The man took a step forward, and the moon shone off his eyes. Hard eyes, they were deep brown, with just the barest hint of red around the edges. "Wh-what do you want with me?!" 

He reached out and grabbed her wrist in a surprisingly strong grip, pulling her toward him. All the time he was staring into her eyes, and she felt almost like she was being hypnotised. She couldn't move, couldn't speak or cry out. The baby in her belly kicked in responce. Almost as if he'd heard or felt or sensed it, the man ran his other hand over Angeline's swollen belly, causing bother her and the baby to shiver. But somehow Angeline knew that while she shivered in fear and dread, the baby squirmed in excitement. 

"Sitt Angel, Angeline, this son is the most important thing in the world to me. Keep him safe, keep him strong. We'll meet again, I promise you." 

The baby shivered again, and Angeline's belly tightened. The man smiled, and Angeline could see the moon glinting off of pointed teeth. Her terror rose, but he didn't seem to be making any threatening gestures to her, unless hypnotising her counted. "Pegasus is dipping into things that are far beyond his control. They were sealed away for a purpose, but now it's destined they be released once more. Oh yes Sitt Angel, we'll meet again." 

He stepped forward, and Angeline fought the paralysis to scream. The man had white hair, a deep tan, and heavy scaring down one cheek. This was the same man that was on that tablet so many months ago, the one Malik said he dreamed of. Around his neck swung a golden ring enscribed with the Eye of Horus, but that wasn't the most frightening of all. Although his grip was still firm and tight around her wrist, she could see right through him to the rocks that lined the entrance of the cave behind him. 

Reaching up, he stroked her cheek with one transparent finger. "Don't fear me, Sitt Angel. I am a friend. In ways you won't understand for many years, I am your son." He stroked her belly again, electing another shiver out of the baby, and then, right before Angeline's eyes, he dissolved as if he were no more than dust in the wind. His grip disappeared from her arm, and with it the strange paralysis that had come over her. 

She dropped to her knees in the sand, her knees too weak to hold her up. Her hands were shaking as frightened tears fell from her eyes, and her belly tightened again. Suddenly she gasped in realization, and struggled to her feet only to fall down again. Her belly wasn't tightening in fear, it was tightening in labour! 

Raising her eyes up to the full moon, Angeline yelled at the top of her lungs, "ISIS!!" The name grew into one long, endless scream until the world went black. 

~*~

He was standing once again in the mouth of the cave, invisible this time, as Sitt Angel's friends rushed over the hill to find her sprawled in the sand. He watched with cold brown eyes, and only grunted in greeting when another joined him. "What do you want?" 

"Was it really wise to show yourself to her? Now she'll be wary of us." 

"Yes," the white-haired man agreed. "But her babe knows me now. _He_ will not be afraid when the time comes." 

The other one bowed his head in agreement. "Yes, that will be a problem my aibou and I will have to overcome. We don't know when he'll arrive, so there may be no chance to aquaint myself with him before he has to take up the Puzzle. If he's scared of me, any number of things could go wrong." The white-haired man said nothing, and after a moment his shorter companion continued. "I am curious though, why did you send dreams to the little blond one, if it's the babe that's to take the Ring?" 

"You know Ankhkare's been taking an unnatural intrest in these humans. He says the blond one is excited for the baby's arrival. There's a good chance the babe and the blond will grow up as brothers, so there's a good reason to make the blond trust me as well." 

The shorter one nodded in understanding. "A shame Seth isn't here. He would have had a fit seeing these mortals excavating our city." 

The white-haired man chuckled and turned away from the mouth of the cave to head back into the labyrinth of twisting passageways. "Damn tomb robbers. I don't see what was so special about the Rod that they took only it." 

"Watch what you call yourself," the shorter said, rather amused. "And I suppose it was Fate that gave them what they needed." He shook his head. "Even if Seth and the Rod are in the hands of the enemy now, we will still overcome." 

"We must." the taller agreed, fingering the Ring around his neck. "Who would have thought that three children would carry the weight of the world?" 

The spike-haired smiled secretively, running his hands absently over the heavy pyramid that hung on it's chain in front of him. "Stranger things have happened." 

()()()()() 

WSJ: And so ends chapter 8! 

Yami Bakura: ^^ I got to be in this chapter! Yayness! 

WSJ: Hold it you, you're not out of hot water yet. 

Yami B: v_v; 

Kaze: ^^ Leave nice reviews everyone! 

Phantom: *runs into the room with Diahorah on his heels, holding a certain blond chibi over his head* Found him! 

WSJ: *squeals as Phantom drops Chibi-Malik into her arms* Finally! Where have you been young man? 

Chibi-Malik: *giggles* Mosshead! 

WSJ: XD You said your first word!! *cocks her head as somewhere not so far away there is a scream of agony* Nevermind minna-san. *looks up at Phantom* Phantom-san, where'd you find him? 

Phantom: He was trying to charm his way into the heart of a shopkeeper so he could buy you a present to celebrate your 100th review. 

WSJ: Aww! CM! You got me a present? 

Chibi-Malik: *nods* Mosshead. *hands her a GBA with Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town* 

WSJ: *eyes light up* YES! I love this game!!! Thank you CM!!! 

Yami B: -_-; Now she'll be obsessively playing it for the next three weeks or so... 

Kaze: ^^ If it keeps her from latching onto me... 

WSJ: *snuggles down with Kaze as a pillow and turns on the GBA* Now, Kaze-san, should I plant turnips or potatoes? 

Kaze: v_v; Drat... 

Yami B: Reviews minna-san! 

God bless minna-san! 


	9. Mother of Phantoms

WSJ: *looks forelornly down at about five trays of cookies sitting on the table* I made too many... 

Kaze: *sips coffee* SJ, it's too early in the morning for you to be up... What are you doing? 

WSJ: ^^ Baking. Com'ere CM! 

Chibi-Malik: *bounces over* Mosshead! 

WSJ: *looks thoughtful* Ya know kid, I think we're going to have to teach you a new word... All that banging is starting to give Zutso-kun a concussion... But anyway! *quickly wraps up two plates of cookies and hands them to Chibi-Malik* These need to be delivered to **Reyvana Draconis** and **Griffinfire**. They were the only two that got the pun in the chapter title. ^^ 

Chibi-Malik: *saluts and runs off to deliver the cookies* 

Yami Bakura: *blinks* So what was the pun? 

WSJ: When Howard Carter first breached the door to Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, Lord Carnarvon asked "What do you see?" and Carter eagerly replied "Many, many wonderful things..." 

Yami Bakura: *rolls his eyes* Only you would care SJ... 

WSJ: ^^; So what? Anyway, this chapter may be a little shorter then normals, but we get some yami action! Whoo! Hey Kaze-san, do disclaimer! 

Kaze: -_-; At least it's "Kaze-san" now and not "Kaze-koi"... SJ doesn't own YGO. Ankhkare and Senui (the spirits of the Ankh and Scales) belong to Indigo Tantarian. 

WSJ: *oogles at **LoneWolf16**'s review* Whoo... Well, you're pretty right on most accounts, save for Ankhkare. ^~ Not even close. Okay everyone! On to the fic!! Oh yeah, one more note. The chapter title and the fact that Angeline gets called "Mother of Phantoms" has nothing to do with Phantom of the Opera. This won't be a crossover in any way. Really though, how can you give birth to a mostly-albino baby in dark-headed Egypt and _not_ raise comment? 

()()()()() 

Hot Sands, Warm Arms 

Chapter 9 - The Mother of Phantoms 

_Quote of the fic:_

"To sum it all up, if you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling."   
~(Ray Bradbury; "How to Be Madder than Captain Ahab"; Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul) 

The scream echoed all over the camp, causing everyone in the pavilion to jump up and stare at each other in horror. Shen was the first to break the silence as he yelled for his wife, at the same time sprinting in the direction the scream had come from. Everyone else followed as fast as they could, though Kaela stayed behind with Malik despite the little one's protests. 

"Tenshi!" 

Shen reached her side first and dropped to his knees in the sand beside her, pulling her head and shoulders into his lap. "Oh Angel, can you hear me?" 

"Shen," Angeline groped for his hand and clasped it, her eyes slitted. "Oh Shen, it hurts...." 

"I know darling, I know," Shen murmered, smoothing her hair away from her face. "It's all right, I'm right here..." 

"Angeline!" 

Isis took charge of the situation almost immediately as Rashiid gathered the shuddering blond up into his arms and they began to run as fast as they could back toward camp. "Rashiid, take her to Malik and mine's tent, and then do crowd control. What we don't need right now is 200 infatuated Arabian workmen crowding around to try and see what's going on. Shaadi, I'll need hot water, hot enough to sterilize. Pegasus, I need clean towels and blankets, and dig out the baby clothes Angel has packed in her bags." She glanced over at Shen, who'd begun to shake and looked almost like he was in shock. "Sugoroku-san, Arthur-san," she barked more orders. "Take Shen somewhere and get him drunk. We don't need the father to have a nervous breakdown." she paused. "Not too drunk though. We want him coherant after the baby's born. Cynthia, I'm going to need your help with the delivery." 

Everyone nodded at their assigned tasks, and as they reached the outskirts of the camp everyone hurried off to do as bid. Shen tried to follow Angeline, but the two older men tugged him away toward their own tent. Rashiid all but plowed through the crowd of nervous and excited workmen to get to his sister and brother's tent. He laid Angeline carefully down on Isis's cot, and then stepped outside the door, where he took up the possition of stern guard by the door, his arms crossed. A moment later Kaela hurried up, a sniffling Malik in her arms. The little boy had no idea what was going on, and was very scared. Rashiid nodded, and they entered the tent to find Isis and Cynthia running around to get everything arranged for the birth. 

"Isis, what can I do?" Kaela asked as Malik wiggled out of her arms and ran over to Angeline. 

Isis shook her head, pushing a loose strand of hair out of her face. "Please Kaela, I need you to watch Malik. Take him over to Shen and Angeline's tent. I don't think you'll be able to get him to sleep, but at least try and keep him busy, if you could." 

Kaela nodded in understanding and went to gather Malik up, but he clung to Angeline. "Mommy, mommy, what's wrong?!" 

Angeline smiled weakly and reached up to run her fingers through Malik's hair. "Nothing's wrong sweety, I promise. It's just time for the baby to come, that's all." 

Malik's face transformed from a look of fear to one of sheer delight. "The baby's coming?! Can I watch?" 

Isis and Kaela face faulted massively, and Angeline sweatdropped. "NO!!" all three women yelled in unison, and Malik grinned as if he'd been expecting that very reaction. He gave his 'mommy' a kiss, hugged Isis and Cynthia, and then allowed Keala to lead him outside, all the while chattering about his new little brother. 

Isis rolled up her sleeves, and Cynthia did the same. "This is not going to be pretty..." Isis muttered as she began examining Angeline. "Dangit Angel! You're over a month early! Couldn't you have waited?!" 

"Well excuse me!" Angeline huffed, half-rising onto her elbows in indignation. "I wasn't aware that this was my fault!" 

"Lay," Isis commanded, pushing her back down onto the cot. "It isn't. I'm just frustrated with myself. Cynthia, get the big wash tub from outside. Scrub it and fill it with hot water, then bring it in here." She finished examining Angeline's body and pulled a stethoscope out of her bag to listen for the baby's heart beat. After a minute she nodded. "Well Angel, looks like we've got a long labor ahead of us. This baby definately won't be coming out before midnight." 

"Oh..." Angeline said faintly. "Wonderful..." She groaned as another contraction came on, and Isis just smiled grimmly and continued preparations. 

Unknown to the both of them, the two spectral beings from the cave had followed them back to the camp, and were now standing in the corner of the tent. The shorter of them was panting slightly, while the white-haired one just scowled with his arms crossed. "Look Pharaoh," he hissed finally, unheard by both women. "Why don't you just go back to the catacombs? I'm sure Ankhkare is probably worried about the poor little woman, and you can assure him that she's all right." 

"I'm fine." the shorter, spike-haired one insisted, trying to stand up straighter despite the fact that he was already a head shorter then the white-haired spirit. "I'm just not used to being so far from the Puzzle. How is it you can get so far away and not even be winded?" 

The white-haired man smirked. "I may not be near the Ring, but I'm very near to my future landlord." he motioned toward Angeline. "So I'm fine, for a time." 

The pharaoh sniffed aristocraticly. "I don't know why you insist you be here. The baby will be born, either way." 

"Yes," his companion agreed. "But I feel better just being near to him. It's a security thing, I suppose. Besides, I feel like at least one of us should be here to witness his birth. If he's going to hold my Ring someday, I want to be sure this is legimate." 

The shorter rolled his eyes. "Only you would care, Bekhura." 

The white-haired man identified as Bekhura grinned ferally, absently rubbing the scars down his cheek. "Nah, you'd have been fighting to witness your partner's birth too, if it hadn't been on another continent." 

The pharaoh scowled. "Of course." he said dryly, then started for the tent flap. "I'll be back in a few minutes, I just need to get closer to the Puzzle and rest. I'm nearly at the end of the its magical boundaries." 

"Keeps you on a leash, does it?" Bekhura asked, and laughed at the expression on the pharoah's face. But before the shorter man could make a retort, Bekhura's face rapidly changed into a look of concentrated horror as his head snapped around to stare at Angeline. "Something's wrong, the babe's not getting any air! Run and get Ankhkare! _Hurry!_" 

The pharaoh didn't argue, he simply nodded and left the tent, sprinting for the caves as fast as he could go. Bekhura ran his hands through his tangled hair and began to pace, occationally stopping to rest a hand lightly on Angeline's belly, though of course she didn't feel it. Isis had gone nearly into a frenzy, trying to find out what was wrong. 

It was only a few minutes later that Pharaoh returned with two other spirits in tow, though to all involved it seemed like hours. Isis had hurried the labor up as much as she could, and was just directing Angeline to push when Pharoah and his two companions ducked into the tent. Cynthia was standing by with a clean, warm towel for the baby and string and scissors to tie off and cut the cord that bound him to his mother. At the sight of the birthing bed the tallest of the spirits, clad in black with a red turban winding around his hair, turned a peculiar shade of green and ducked back outside. 

Bekhura was nearly frantic, or at least as frantic as a self-controlled tomb robber could get. He jumped up from where he'd been sitting on a crate and grabbed the green-clothed Ankhkare by the arm as he slipped inside. "Something's wrong! You have to help the baby!" 

Ankhkare nodded and moved toward Isis, not even needing to question why. For the past months Bekhura had been able to talk of little else save the child that would someday host his spirit. As Bekhura hovered nervously over his shoulder, Ankhkare reached out a hand and spread it over Angeline's belly. The Ankh necklace around his neck began to glow as he chanted something softly under his breath. 

A minute later both the Pharaoh and the black-clad spirit, both of whom were now waiting outside, looked up as the loud, piercing wail of a child split the air. Pharaoh nodded in relief while the black-clad spirit scowled. "Wonderful, another child. As if the blond one wasn't enough..." 

Pharaoh chuckled and shook his head, causing his blond bangs to bounce slightly. "Senui, I shall never understand you..." 

Senui, the Scales spirit, scowled slightly (woah, try saying that three times fast!). "Well, I guess that's one good thing then..." 

Inside the tent, things weren't quite so relaxed. "The child's very weak..." Ankhkare mumbled, half to himself. He rested his hands on the child as Cynthia swiftly cut the cord and then began to bathe him in cool, clear water. "There, I've done all I can Bekhura, the rest is up to Fate." 

Bekhura muttered something under his breath in regards to Fate's "good" intentions, but smiled slightly and nodded at the other spirit. "Thank you Ankhkare." 

Ankhkare wasn't listening. He was watching Cynthia bathe the little boy with a peculiar expression on his face. A moment later he shook himself and returned Bekhura's smile. "You're very welcome. I wouldn't want to see the child die. I'll take leave of you now." He swept past the tomb robber and exited the tent. Bekhura resumed his place in the corner, and chuckled when he finally got a good look at the pale baby boy with white fuzz on his head. "You even look like me, you little brat..." he muttered affectionately. 

"What's his name?" Isis asked, her pen poised over the birth records sitting on the desk. Bekhura smiled softly and said the name together with Angeline, although Isis heard only one voice. 

"Ryou Emerson Bakura." 

Isis had just taken the child from Cynthia and wrapped him in a long, white cloth when Rashid stuck his head in. "Isis, the men want to see the child. Something about blessing him." 

Isis looked to Angeline, and although the blond looked very tired and eager to hold her child, she nodded. Isis stepped out of the tent with the babe in her arms, facing a crowd of 200 men and three invisible spirits. Making sure he wouldn't fall (and trying not to roll her eyes at the similarities to a certain Disney blockbuster movie) Isis took the baby in her hands and held him up over her head, electing a cheer from the men. The baby was bathed in starlight and light from the full moon, reflecting full off his white hair and pale skin. One man took up the cheer, and soon others did as well, until it reverberated across the valley. 

"Long live Ryou, the Little Phantom! Long live Sitt Angel, Mother of Phantoms!" After a startled moment little Ryou began to bawl, and so Isis took him back inside to his mother. Angeline bared a breast for the baby, who immediately began to suckle. 

Isis sat down next to Angeline and stretched her arms over her head. "Angel, it was a miracle! I was sure the baby was going to die, but... here he is. Angel, what just happened?" 

Angeline, half asleep already, just yawned and ran her hand over Ryou's downey soft white curls. "Maybe he has a guardian angel." 

In the corner where he was indeed watching over the baby, Bekhura could only snicker. 

()()()()() 

WSJ: Whoo! I get to go see Return of the King tonight!!! *dances around happily* Waaaaii!!! 

_On the matter of Bekhura and Yami getting along:_ Think about it for a minute. This is an AU story, so who's to say the past in ancient Egypt wasn't AU too? It'll get revealed eventually just what did happen in Egypt, but it might be awhile. For now, let's just suffice to say that things aren't quite the same... 

WSJ: On a side note, don't expect anything out of me for awhile. I know this chapter was short and crappy, but that's because I wanted to get it up before my life really got busy. The holidays are gonna be really stressful for me, and it's a miracle I got _this_ up! ~_~;; Reviews please! *goes off to bake six dozen cookies to take in to school* 

God bless minna-san! 


	10. My Brother and Poker

WSJ: -_-; I know, I know, it's been awhile... Please don't hurt me too much for the long delay. I've been overworked between school and trying to crank out chapter 12 of _Home Sweet Home_ and the next few chapters of _Like a Thief in the Night_. *winces* In fact, I _should_ be working on the poetry notebook I have due next week. :p Guess what I'm not doing. LOL. Anyway, enjoy! 

Yami Bakura: *rolls his eyes* SJ doesn't own YGO. Karim, Najib, and Kaela are hers, however. Ankhkare and Senui are Indigo Tantarian's. 

WSJ: Be warned I have almost no significant plot until Ryou's about three, so these next few "years" are going to be fudged. ^^ 

()()()()() 

Hot Sands Warm Arms 

Chapter 10 -- My Brother (and Poker) 

_Quote of the chapter:_

"Look over there! General Nakago's doing a strip act!"  
~(Miaka, Fushigi Yuugi) 

The next morning, while nearly everyone else still slept, Malik was up with the sun. Quietly he crawled out of his cot, careful not to wake up Kaela, who was sleeping on Isis's cot. Isis was still in with Angeline, and Shen had apparently fallen asleep (or passed out) on one of the pavilion tables and been left there, covered with a light blanket. 

Pulling on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, leaving his feet bare, Malik crept out of the tent. Outside all was silent, save the last sleepy hoots of desert owls and the distant drone of insects. Malik stretched his arms over his head and looked around, his lavendar eyes keen and alert dispite the early hour. Padding across the quickly heating sand, Malik nudged the canvas flab aside and peered into Angeline and Shen's tent. Someone, probably Cynthia, had already carted away the soiled bedding, and Angeline was resting comfortably on her side, her hand lazily draped over the side of the cradle that was laying beside her cot. Isis was asleep nearby, curled up on the sand and propped up against a crate. 

Silent as a field mouse Malik came inside, making sure the tent flap fell back closed behind him. Tip-toeing forward, careful not to wake up Angeline or Isis, Malik leaned over to look into the cradle. 

Laying in a nest of soft white blankets was the tiniest thing Malik had possibly ever seen. Little Ryou was wearing a light cotton sleeper that was a little too big for him, and his legs were covered by the green and blue baby blanket Cynthia had bought at the Luxor bazaar a few weeks ago. He was laying on his back with his arms splayed out on either side, his breath making tiny _whooshie_ sounds as he breathed in and out. His skin, far from the flushed red most babies' were, was a milky white. His hair was as white as the sheets he was laying on. 

Malik stared in wonder for what seemed like a long time, but was in reality only a few minutes. Reaching out a shaking hand, Malik brushed the baby's cheek with just the tip of one finger, marveling at the softness and the deep contrast his own tanned hand made against Ryou's pale skin. The baby gurgled slightly, his face screwing up as if he was about to cry, and Malik gasped, quickly snatching his hand away. Ryou waved his arms, his little legs kicking feebly under the blanket. 

Malik cocked his head, wondering what was wrong. Maybe he was too hot? Carefully the little Egyptian reached back into the cradle, pulling the blanket away so that it was bunched up around Ryou's feet. The baby kicked again, one of his tiny feet coming into contact with Malik's hand. Ryou blinked his eyes open, and focused on the strange dark thing above him. 

Lavendar eyes met brown, and for a moment Malik and Ryou just looked at each other. Causiously Malik reached out a finger, nudging the palm of Ryou's tiny hand. Ryou's fingers closed around it reflexively, gripping Malik's index finger in a surprisingly strong grip. 

"Hi," Malik whispered, smiling at the baby. "I'm your new big bwother. I'm Malik." 

And Ryou smiled. 

Somewhere nearby there was a low chuckle, and Malik looked up to see Angeline looking at him with half-open eyes, a soft smile on her face. "I'm sowwey Mommy," Malik said, chagrined. "I din't mean t' wake you up." 

"You didn't," Angeline reassured him, both of them still keeping their voices low so as not to wake Isis. "Mothers have an instinct built in to wake up every few hours or so to check on their child. Especially new mothers." She pushed herself up on one elbow, gazing lovingly down into the cradle. "I think he likes you, Malik." 

Malik nodded, looking back down at the child, who now seemed facinated with Malik's finger, which he was still holding firmly in his tiny hands. "He's so little." 

"Babies tend to be." Angeline said, stroking Ryou's soft white hair with one finger. "And this baby is smaller than most." She frowned slightly, looking a little worried, and whispered mostly to reassure herself "But he seems strong, even for one so small." 

Malik nodded happily. "An' I'll teach him t' be even stronger! I'll protect him and play with him and teach him everything he needs t' know! I'm his bwother!" he declared, puffing out his chest slightly. "An' that's what bwothers do!" 

Angeline's face broke into a smile and she chuckled, reaching out to ruffle Malik's hair. "I'm sure you'll be the best big brother ever." 

Ryou, meanwhile, had stuck Malik's finger in his mouth and begun sucking on it. Upon discovering that this wasn't what he wanted, he spit it out and began to wail. Malik drew back from the cradle, alarmed. "I'm sorry mommy! I didn't mean to hurt him!" 

Angeline smiled at him, already unbuttoning the top couple buttons of her nightshirt. "You didn't hurt him, Malik. He's just hungry. Could you do me a favor and go find Shen?" 

Malik nodded and hurried out of the tent, grateful to be away from the wailing infant. While he'd been inside, the camp had come to life. Over the three or so months it had been here, the dig had expanded radicly. Many of the Egyptian workers had moved their wives and children out to live on site with them, as it didn't look like they'd be going anywhere any time soon. It was almost a regular village now, and several of the leaders of the mottly band had applied to Pegasus for permission to start building more permanent homes. The archaeologists had discussed it, and generally agreed that it was a good idea. They were all getting tired of living in tents. And besides, none of them were going anywhere anytime soon. 

"I know we originally planned for just a ten month dig," Pegasus had said, standing at the head of the table. The other seven archaeologists, plus Karim, Najib, Rashiid, and Malik were sitting under the pavilion, letting Pegasus's vision sweep them away. "But no one can deny that what we've found here is anything short of miraculous. An entire unknown city, with subterranean temples left unplundared, and all of it ours! This is bigger than Tutankhamen, my friends! Bigger than Tel er Armarna! Bigger than the supposed tomb of Tiye! Yes, we all have friends and family in our home countries, but as for me, I have all I need right here," he paused to smile at Cynthia. "What I see, my friends, is a city of the living next to this city of sand and stone. A city filled with archaeologists, with workers and their families, with merchants and herders and every manner of life, just as it must have been thousands of years ago. So what do you say? Will you stay with me, no matter how long it takes?" 

Angeline, still pregnant at that time, had been the first to rise ponderously to her feet, her hands over her swollen belly. Shen had immediately jumped up to stand with her. "Shen and I always dreamed we would find something like this," Angeline had said, her jaw set firmly. "And I can think of no better place to raise a family then among the people we've grown to love so much over the years, and among friends. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we're with you until the end, Pegasus-kun." 

The use of the familiar suffix sealed it, and in an instant the others were on their feet too. Shaadi plunged his hand into the middle of their circle, and in an instant a dozen more were laid on top of it. They were a team, and always would be. Their city was born in that moment. 

Shaadi and Pegasus had drawn up plans, and in a few weeks, as soon as baby Ryou was a little older and the novelty of a crying baby had worn off, Pegasus and Cynthia were planning to take a week-long trip to Cairo to get all the proper licences required to found a town. They were planning on naming it New Ankhara. It seemed fitting, somehow. Some of the workers had been diverted from excavation and were digging a well in what would eventually be the center of the city under the watchful eye of Najib. People who had nothing to do with the dig, merchants and herders as Pegasus had said, were beginning to drift into this oasis in the desert. 

The pavilion had become a center of operations, of sorts. All day Pegasus or Sugoroku or Shen would sit like a king on his throne, settling disputes between the workers, giving directions on excavations, and other minor matters while around him Angeline and Cynthia and Isis worked on piecing together pottery or jeweralry. Even Malik had been allowed to help, running as messanger between all the different crews at work. From those in the pavilion to those digging the well to Shaadi and Rashiid in the underground temples to those excavating the city's west quarter and back again. 

This morning Malik stepped out of Angeline's tent and inhaled deeply the morning scents of the camp/village. The archaeologists had their tents closest to the pavilion, forming a ring around the brightly coloured meeting place. A quarter turn around the ring, Kaela and Cynthia were building up a fire in the main fire pit to cook breakfast for all eight of the archaeologists plus Malik and Rashiid. Cynthia saw him and waved, and Malik returned the greeting before making for the yellow striped pavilion. 

He reached it in barely thirty seconds, and giggled to see Shen stretched out and snoring on one of the tables. Pegasus was standing over him, looking down at the Japanese man in dismay. "Good morning Malik," he said, running a hand through his silver hair. "Come for Shen, I take it?" 

Malik nodded. "Mommy wants to see him." 

Pegasus groaned. "Not unless she's got a miracle cure for hangovers. Come on Malik, help me push him off." 

"Off the table?!" Malik asked, half in dismay and half in delight. 

Pegasus looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Unless you have a better idea for getting him awake?" 

Malik nodded and with a little help from Pegasus scrambled up so he was sitting on Shen's chest. Leaning over, the little boy tried to keep from giggling as he whispered "Baby." 

Shen sat bolt upright, nearly catapulting Malik off his chest. "Huh, whasis?" 

Malik burst into hysterical giggles, and Pegasus chuckled, holding out a hand to help Shen off the table. "Congradulations Shen Bakura, you have a son." 

Shen's eyes widened in disbelief as he swayed on his feet for a moment. "A son? A son! I'm a father!" 

Pegasus chuckled and slapped the man on the back, leading him off toward Angeline's tent. "Yes you are. Malik, can you go make sure everyone's awake, please?" Malik nodded and scampered off as Pegasus held open the tent flap for Shen to duck inside. Just after the dark-haired man had gone inside, Isis came out and grinned at Pegasus, rolling her eyes slightly. The two chuckled and made their way to breakfast, leaving the new parents alone. 

For a moment Shen just stood in the doorway, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he watched Angeline nurcing their baby boy. Then she glanced up, and smiled at him, motioning for him to come sit on the edge of her cot. He did so, and put one of his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. "Oh Angel, he's so beautiful..." With his other hand, Shen gently stroked the baby's feathery hair. 

Angeline smiled as Ryou made a sort of soft squeaking sound and snuggled against her breast. "Aw, Ryou, it's just your daddy." 

Shen chuckled quietly as little Ryou yawned, his eyes drifting closed. "Sleepy, is he?" 

"Well wouldn't you be?" Angeline teased, shifting Ryou in her arms so she could button up her shirt again. "Would you like to hold him?" 

Shen somehow managed to look delighted and nervous at the same time. "May I?" 

"If you don't drop him." Angeline said, giving her husband a hard look. "Isis said something about you getting drunk last night?" 

Shen rubbed the back of his neck ruefully. "Well, Sugoroku and Arthur managed to dig up a bottle of cheap sake somewhere, but I paced off all the alcohal I drank worrying about you and the baby." 

"Awww," Angeline giggled, leaning up against her husband's shoulder as he cradled little Ryou in his arms. "You're so sweet. _Now_ I remember why I married you!" 

"You mean you forgot?" Shen asked incredulously, turning to stare at her. 

Angeline smiled rather nastily. "I did when I was in labor for two hours." 

Shen shuddered slightly. "Better you than me..." Angeline just laughed. 

All morning there was a steady stream of people coming in to coo over the baby. It seemed half the women in the village had been making something for Ryou or Angeline or both, and before long the Bakuras had plenty of blankets and pillow slips and other useless gifts that people always gave to a family with a new baby. Ryou now had a wardrobe much bigger than him, and Angeline had been handed at least two slinky silk nighties with a nudge and a wink from the woman offering it. Angeline thanked everyone and dutifully wrote down all their names so she could get started on thank you cards. Finally, around dinner time when all the workers and workers' wives were with their own families, Shen and Angeline had some time alone. 

"Goodness," Angeline said, laying back on her cot and stretching her arms over her head. "All that fuss over a baby..." 

"The baby of people they respect and admire," Shen pointed out, sitting down next to his wife. "Did you really think they were going to ignore the family of Sitt Angel?" 

Angeline giggled. "Well no, I just didn't expect them all to be so kind... We're not Muslim, or Egyptian." 

"Doesn't matter." Shen said. "You've been so kind to them, of course they're going to be kind back." 

Angeline blushed and smiled at the praise. "I suppose so..." 

There was a quiet knocking on the tent pole by the door, and a moment later Cynthia stuck her head in. "Would you two like to join us for some after dinner festivities?" 

The Bakuras glanced at each other, then down at Ryou, who was sleeping peacefully in his cradle. "Well..." 

"Sugoroku and Arthur said they'd watch Ryou and Malik for us," Cynthia said "Pegasus and I have been planning this for a few weeks." 

Shen glanced at his wife and shrugged. "Fine by me." 

Angeline smiled and nodded. "It sounds fun." Standing up, she bent down to retrieve Ryou from his bed, wrapping him in his blanket and cuddling him against her shoulder. He gurgled a little, but stayed asleep, one tiny fist wrapping around the neckline of the sundress she was wearing. 

Cynthia grinned and led the way to the pavilion, which was lit with lamps as the sun began to sink down over the horizon. Pegasus, Rashiid, Shaadi, Isis, and Kaela were sitting around one of the tables. Nearby stood Sugoroku and Arthur, with Arthur holding firmly on to Malik's hand. The little boy was whining about not getting to stay with everyone else. 

"Hush," Sugoroku said sternly. "We'll have plenty of fun by ourselves, Malik." 

Angeline chuckled as she detatched Ryou from around her neck and handed him over to Sugoroku. "If he needs anything, don't hesitate to come get me." she said. "I just fed him, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem, but he may need a diaper change." 

Arthur chuckled. "Don't worry Angel, both of us have raised children of our own. We know how to care for babies." 

Angeline smiled. "Thank you, then." She kneeled down, putting herself on eye-level with Malik. "Take care of Ryou for me, okay?" 

Malik stopped whining and immediately puffed up his chest, proud to be given such an important job. "I will Mommy!" he said happily, hugging her around the neck before running off with the two older men. 

Angeline chuckled and shook her head, straightening up and turning back to the others around the table. "Well now, what're these festivities I heard about?" 

Isis smiled as Angeline took a seat between Shen and Pegasus. "Well, Cynnie and Pegasus and I were talking, and I commented that after a woman's had a baby, usually her self-confidence is decreased, and that everyone seems to care more for the baby than her. So we've come up with a way to show you, Angel, that you're still a beautiful woman and that we care about you. ^^" 

Shaadi grinned slightly and pulled out a deck of cards. "In other words, the name of the game is strip poker." 

Angeline and Shen's eyes bugged out. "_What?_" 

Cynthia giggled, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers. "You lose a hand, you lose your clothes. Simple as that!" 

Rashiid frowned as he noticed Kaela looking down at her lap and blushing. Leaning over to her, he asked quietly "Kaela? Are you okay with this?" 

"N-not really..." she whispered back, glancing wide-eyed around the circle of faces. "I barely know some of the people here..." 

Rashiid smiled encouragingly at her. "Okay then." He patted her hand and then raised his voice. "Pegasus-san, do you mind if Kaela and I decide to skip out on the game?" 

Pegasus looked slightly surprised, but waved them off. "No no, that's fine. Go right ahead." 

Kaela got up with a sigh of relief and let Rashiid lead her out of the pavilion. The talk of the others slowly faded into the distance as the two wandered around the growing village. They walked in silence, aimlessly, staring up at the starry skies. It was quiet and dark out, save for distant shouts of laughter and the blazing lanterns in the pavilion and some of the tents. They walked for a long time, and somewhere along the way Rashiid took hold of her hand. 

"Awww... Aren't they cute?" 

The white-haired spirit scowled from where he was again leaning against the wall of the mouth of the cave. "Only you would think so, Ankhkare." 

The spirit of the Ankh chuckled. "Never one for lovey-dovey, were you Bekhura?" 

Bekhura snorted as Rashiid and Kaela wandered by again, still holding hands. "It's only taken you three-thousand years to figure that out...?" 

~*~

Pegasus was starting to sweat, and not from the desert heat. They'd decided that they'd play guys against dolls, and currently the guys were losing. They'd voted to count pairs of things as one article of clothing, and that jewelry did count. So far Shaadi had lost his turban, shoes, socks, and earrings. Pegasus had lost his shoes, socks, and shirt and was currently sitting there in the tank top undershirt he always wore. Shen was minus his shoes, socks, and shirt, and from the look on his face it looked like he was about to lose another hand. 

Over on the gals side of things, none of the three of them could seem to stop giggling. Cynthia and Angeline were both minus their jeweralry and shoes, but Isis had quite awhile to go before she even began taking of clothes. Curse that woman for wearing so much jewelry! 

"Are you ladies ready?" Pegasus asked, trying not to panic. Suggesting strip poker had _seemed_ like a good idea at the time. 

The women nodded, and all six of them laid down their hands. Angeline burst into giggles again when it became clear that Shen had lost... again. Apparently the new father had vey bad luck when it came to card games. "Yay Shen-koi!" 

"Can't I just take off my glasses?" Shen asked, his cheeks darkening somewhat under the wide grins of the girls. 

Angeline laughed. "You're blind as a bat without them! Come on, you know what I want..." 

At the seductive purr in her voice, Shen's blush deepened. He stammered for a moment as Angeline leaned across the table toward him, her eyelids lowered sexily. "A-Angel!" His eyes darted around, looking for a way out of this, and he absently smacked Pegasus and Shaadi upside the heads. "Stop looking at her like that, you idiots!" 

Finally he was forced to give in, and he pulled off his undershirt with a sigh, leaving him barechested. One more lost hand would leave him in his boxers. Shen collected his cards and tried to ignore the whistles and cat-calls from the other side of the table. 

It was going to be a looooong night... 

()()()()() 

WSJ: Happy now? 

Yami Bakura: *grumbles* I'm going to bed... *wanders off to nest in the piles of stuffed animals in WSJ's closet* 

WSJ: Me too. Screw staying up to watch InuYasha, I want sleep... *shuffles off to the side and flops down on her bed, curling up and pulling on her head phones. Faint strains of _Music of the Night_ can be heard* 

Phantom-san: *who's nocturnal anyway* ^^; SJ says not to expect anything on this story for awhile, because as she stated at the beginning of the chapter, she has no plot for the next couple years. If you give her some time she'll find one, you just gotta give her a chance... Oh yes, she also told me to tell you to watch HSH, because she should get the next chapter out soon. _Like a Thief_ is still on hold until SJ's library spits up its copy of the YYH movie. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go see a man about a lasso... *stalks off, leaving Yami Bakura snoring among stuffed bears and WSJ murmering about how much she loves Michael Crawford* 

God bless minna-san! 


	11. Fast Forward

WSJ: This chapter moves very fast and covers over three years, so beware. ^^; I'm sorry, but I honestly have no plot in there that wouldn't be annoying and tedious to write. I may come back and put stuff in later, but for now I'm going to skim it. :D Next chapter we can finally get around to all the dramatic plot I have worked out. 

Yami Bakura: You are so weird... 

WSJ: ^^V 

Disclaimer: Own none. Ankhkare and Senui belong to Indigo Tantarian. 

Note: I did go back and edit all the chapters, replacing Bel um Fal with Atemu, but I just realized that if I wanted to post them I'd have to do this long and involved process to preserve my symbols. It's enough pain in the butt having to do it with every new chapter, so I'm not going to bother. All future chapters will have Yami's correct name of Atemu, so please ignore the previous wrong one. 

()()()()() 

Hot Sands Warm Arms 

Chapter 11 - Fast Forward 

_Quote of the Chapter:_

"Pixi Stix gooooood..."  
~(my friend Kat and I. Need I say more?) 

Things came and went, and for the spirits that lived in the underground caves it was all just a blur. Mostly. 

Shaadi and Pegasus continued working underground, copying carvings and photographing, while everyone else usually stayed in the massive city that was slowly being uncovered above ground. Sometimes Malik would hang around down in the caves too, and the spirits soon realized that he could see them, even when they'd made themselves invisible to human eyes. He never said anything, but when Senui or the pharaoh hung around to watch Pegasus work, Malik would keep darting glances toward them, as if making sure they weren't any threat. Once, Senui just scowled and made a rude gesture, but Malik only grinned and returned it. 

October passed with the celebrating of Pegasus's twenty-fifth birthday, as well as the celebration of New Ankhara becoming a licensed town. Most of the buildings were workers' homes, made of mud brick and clay. Near the well, however, they began work on a two-story limestone building that would act as town hall and meeting place, like a much more permanent pavilion. 

The year turned with Malik's seventh birthday, as well as something much more sinister. The spirits could only watch, helpless, as a man robed and masked in black crept into the underground labyrinth by night, and made his way straight to the chamber where the sacred Sennen Items were kept. He stole only one; the Sennen Eye. 

Now two spots on the great slab stood empty, the Rod and Eye both stolen. 

The archaeologists had not yet reached the Item chamber, so they did not know of its theft until much, much too late... 

The next year was spent in happy, archaeological bliss. Museums were scrambling to purchase or lease Ankhara artifacts. Angeline and Isis were already working on organizing everything they were learning about this unknown Pharaoh Atemu into a book. All of them had already published an article or two in various archaeology magazines around the globe. 

Of course, with the fame came another price. Tourists were now beginning to flock to the site, creating havoc and mayhem that no scholar could hope to work in. Rashiid just sighed and hired guards at night, and crowd-chasers during the day. After Pegasus publicly threatened to close down the site, the Egyptian government stepped in to help with tourist control as well. 

They celebrated the one year anniversary of the beginning of their excavation with a small party thrown in the new limestone building, which had been dubbed Atemu House. During the summer, excavation slowed as heat kept them from keeping the full hours that they could in the winter. 

Ryou was growing at an amazing rate, his hair still as white as ever, but his skin tanned as brown as any little Egyptian. He could already walk by his first birthday, and by that Christmas he was running around behind his big brother Malik and being blamed (by Malik) for all sorts of mischief. 

It was at the Christmas party in Atemu House that Pegasus and Cynthia, giving each other long, sickeningly loving looks, announced the best news anyone had heard of in a long time. The revelation that Cynthia was pregnant was met with cheers all around. Pegasus announced that he was launching an Ankhara exhibit at the New York Institute of Ancient Art, barely twenty miles from his and Cynthia's manor. The Crawfords planned to return to America and host the exhibit for the rest of Cynthia's pregnancy, but that they would return with the baby after it was safely born. 

Everyone, especially Angeline and Isis, were sad to see Pegasus and Cynthia go, but Pegasus was being fiercely protective of his young wife and unborn child, and swore that they would only have the best doctors New York, or all of America, had to offer. They left just after New Years, with fond farewells and promises to write. 

Excavation carried on as normal, even without the Crawfords there. Several of Kaela's friends from art school were employed at the dig as well, cataloguing and labeling all the artifacts. Kaela and Isis and Angeline would take turns watching Malik and Ryou, though more often than not the two little boys would be running around all over the country side. 

It was in April, as Cynthia was nearing her seven month mark, that Angeline discovered that she was pregnant again. Isis quickly confined her back to baby sitting and restoration projects only, and Angeline accepted the restrictions with a sigh. 

In early June, a letter arrived from New York. 

"Minna!" Angeline called excitedly, standing in the doorway of Atemu house and waving something over her head. Shen and Shaadi, the only ones who were nearby, laid their work aside and came inside, where Kaela and Isis were already waiting. "It's a letter from Pegga!" Angeline said excitedly. " 'Dear Shen, Angeline, Isis, and all,' " she read outloud, imitating Pegasus's quiet American accent. 

_It seems like we've been away forever, and Cynnie and I are both looking forward to returning to Egypt within the month. It's nice to be back in America, but over the last year Egypt has grown into home for us. Our parents were aghast, seeing us so tan. You'd have thought we'd strayed back from a fairy ring, the way they stared at us. _

The exhibition is going very well, and there is talk of sending a portion of it on tour. The Three Gods stele and the Destiny stele are both being shipped to Tokyo, where they will take up permanent residence in the Domino Museum, as we agreed. Atemu's throne and that charming collection of hand-carved board games we found are staying on permanent exhibit in New York, along with pottery and several other less important pieces. 

But on to happier news. I am very proud to announce that near eleven p.m. on May the 21st, Cynthia went into labor. At around 7 a.m. on May 22, she gave birth to twin girls (I kid you not!). The older one is a blond, and her name is Charlotte Marie Crawford. The younger one is silver-haired, and her name is Melissa Anne Crawford. I am very proud to name Shen and Angeline as their godparents. Cynthia is just about bursting in joy, and can't wait to show our daughters off. For that matter, neither can I. Expect us near the end of June. We love you all and can't wait to see you again. 

~Pegasus James Crawford 

Shen was grinning ear to ear, as was Shaadi. "Twins, wow!" Shen whistled. "I guess it is a good thing they were in America for the birth, then. If something had gone wrong while they were here, twin pregnancies are awful complicated." 

Angeline grinned at him. "You talk as if from experience." 

Shen flushed as Shaadi snickered. "Ugh... I hope not. No offense Angel, but I think I prefer dealing with one child at a time." 

Angeline giggled and rubbed her slightly rounded belly. "Me too," 

The spirits, Ankhkare especially, were thrilled over the news of the new children that would soon be joining them. Well, the pharaoh and Ankhare were thrilled. Bekhura was rather indifferent, and Senui just scowled. But then again, Senui scowled at _everything_. 

As promised, the Crawford family returned to Egypt during the last week of June. The babies were cooed over and cuddled, and Cynthia shrieked and giggled over Angeline's pregnancy. The upstairs of Atemu House was bedrooms, and Pegasus and Cynthia moved into one of them, so that little Carly and Missy (as they were called) wouldn't have to sleep in a tent. Angeline, Shen, and Ryou moved into another of the bedrooms, Isis into a fourth, and Rashiid and Malik into the last one. More were being added at the back of Atemu House, so that eventually all the archaeologists would have rooms, but for now there was only enough room for the three families. The lower floor of Atemu House were the public rooms, the upper floor were the private. 

The summer passed in squelching heat, and for awhile everyone was worried because Pegasus, Ryou, and little Missy all came down with horrible fevers in the middle of July. Missy recovered fairly quickly, much to everyone's relief, but Cynthia and the twins had to temporarily move into Isis's room so they could keep Pegasus and Ryou quarantined. Both of them were bed-ridden for nearly three weeks, struggling first under the burning fever, and then to recover from it. 

Angeline nearly worried herself sick over her little boy, and Isis was constantly reminding her to calm down and think of the baby she was carrying. Isis was deathly afraid that the shock and stress of Ryou being so sick would send Angeline into another early labor. 

But eventually the sickness passed, the only ill effect seeming to be that Ryou couldn't hear quite as well out of his left ear anymore. This only developed into an adorable habit of cocking his head when anyone spoke to him, and Pegasus liked to tease him about doing it only to gain attention. 

Ryou turned two barely a week after he'd recovered from the fever, and a party was thrown to celebrate, with real cake. Malik had missed his 'little brother', especially since a lot of the time he hadn't even been able to go see Ryou for fear that he might catch the fever too. 

A month later, on October 22, Angeline gave birth to a healthy little girl, and she and Shen named her Amane Amelia Bakura. Isis and Shaadi were named her godparents, which made the two Egyptians blush. They still had not made their feelings for each other public, although all their close friends could see how they felt about each other. 

Winter turned to spring, and Carly and Missy turned one. The year passed on... Ryou turned three, Amane turned one, Malik turned nine. It is after this New Years, in the spring of the fifth year of excavation, that our story will slow again, and I will pick up a more detailed account. This is the year when everything began to come together, when things began to mount up. Light and light, dark and dark. 

And it all begins, all of it, with a snake. 

()()()()() 

WSJ: ^^ And there you go!! :p Hey, I warned you. Next chapter picks up a detailed story again, but it may be awhile, cuz I've got research to do. :p Until then, ja! 

God bless minna-san! 


	12. Ophidiophobia

WSJ: So how'd everyone's Christmas go? ^^ Mine was awesome! Pirates of the Caribbean, Special Edition Mulan (my favorite movie EVER) and Rurouni Kenshin: Shadow Elite, all on DVD!! *dances* Not to mention the sixty bucks in Barnes & Noble gift card! *drools over manga* Fruits Basket, Rurouni Kenshin, Slayers... Hehehe... My mommy also managed to find these two LEGO figures modeled to be Jean Gray and Wolverine, of the X-Men. XD They're so kawaii! 

Okay okay, I'll stop ranting. :p Merry Christmas all! 

Disclaimer: No own YGO. Ankhare and Senui belong to Indigo Tantarian-sama. Kaela, Missy, Carly, and other random OCs belong to me. 

Heeheehee... You guys sure seem eager for Yugi to pop up, don't you. ^^ Never fear, he's coming soon, so keep a look out. 

Oh... And please don't hurt me!! *hides* 

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Hot Sands Warm Arms 

Chapter 12 - Ophidiophobia 

_Quote of the chapter:_

"When bad things happen, don't give up because the day will come when you look back and laugh at them."  
(Nuriko - Fushigi Yuugi) 

It was mid-February, just after Valentine's day, when it all began. 

A large shipment of artifacts from Ankhara where scheduled to be delivered to Athens, Greece, and Shaadi and Isis were to go with them to make sure they arrived safely. They were only to be gone for a week or so, and since Malik was nine, they'd decided that he was old enough to go with them. Excited beyond belief, it was all the little boy could talk about for weeks beforehand. 

A few days before they were scheduled to leave, Malik and Ryou wandered to the edge of the city to play. They carried with them a goatskin ball. Ryou had been pouting all morning, and Malik was of a mind to find out why. 

"What's wrong?" Malik asked as they tossed the ball back and forth. 

Ryou stuck out his lower lip in the way only three-year-olds can. "I wanna go wif you." 

Malik blinked, then sighed. He should have known. "I'll be back before you know it, Ry. Besides, you have to stay here to protect 'mane and the twins." 

"No! I wanna go wif you!" 

"You're not old enough to go with us yet," Malik explained, trying to be patient. He'd had this conversation with Ryou what seemed like a million times, and it was starting to get old. "But someday-" 

Ryou stamped his foot. "Nooo! I'm old enough _now_! Mommy says I'm a big boy, why can't I go wif you?" 

"You are a big boy," Malik said, sighing again and shoving his hair out of his eyes. "You just can't go with us this time, that's all." 

"But why?" Ryou pestered. "Why can't I go wif you and Auntie Isis and Uncle Shaadi?" 

"Because!" Malik said, finally losing his temper. "You just can't! You're a little kid, way too little to go all the way to Greece!" 

"I am not!" Ryou howled, stamping his foot again. "I am not a little kid!" 

"Yes you are!" 

Losing his own temper, Ryou screwed up his face and stomped over to his friend and 'adoptive' brother, and kicked him roughly in the shin. "No I'm _not_!" 

Malik scowled, his face flushing in anger. Grabbing the ball from where he'd dropped it, he flung it as hard as he could over a nearby sand dune. "There! If you're such a big boy, go get the ball!" 

Ryou gasped a little, his eyes widening, but then he pouted again. "Fine! I will! But I'm gonna tell mommy on you!" Turning on one foot, the white-haired child stomped out of sight around the hill. It really wasn't that big of one, just large enough that two small boys couldn't see over it. It was rather rocky, and although neither boy knew it, riddled with caves and crevices where Egypt's most deadly predators liked to lurk. 

Malik just crossed his arms and glared at nothing, waiting for Ryou to come back. He'd better not tell Angeline, or Malik sure would make him sorry. The two boys really did fight like brothers sometimes, but this was one of the worst scuffs they'd ever gotten into. 

The next thing Malik knew, someone screamed. Eyes wide enough to make his kohl crack, Malik forgot all about his anger as he ran around the dune. "Oh no, oh no, oh nonono..." 

Just as he rounded the corner and came within sight of Ryou, a loud and angry hiss reached his ears. From then, things seemed to occur in slow motion, like in a dream. Malik tried to run faster, but he didn't seem to be getting anywhere. He watched in horror as Ryou dropped the ball and took a step back, too scared to just run. A short, dun-colored snake reared up in front of him, hissing at the boy who dared disturb its rest. For a moment time stopped, and Malik was able to see the snake clearly. It had a broad, triangular head and a small horn over each eye. Malik's blood froze as he recognized one of Egypt's poisonous snakes, one he didn't know the name of, but that every Egyptian child was taught to avoid. 

Time unfroze, and the snake struck like lightning. Ryou screamed again and fell, whimpering and clutching at his ankle. Malik yelled, reaching down and grabbing a stone from the ground. He hurtled it at the snake, and after a last hiss it slithered away to seek easier prey. 

Malik slid to a stop in a shower of sand, his heart thundering against his rib cage. He dropped to his knees, grabbing Ryou by the shoulders. "Ry, don't move. You're gonna be okay, I promise." 

Ryou was trembling, and clung to his big brother as tears rolled down his cheeks, both from pain and fear. "I want my mommy!" 

"I know, Ry, I know. Let go, I gotta take care of that bite." Pushing Ryou off of him, Malik turned to the younger boy's leg and gasped softly, wincing. "Oh man, oh man..." Tearing a long strip off the hem of his shirt, Malik quickly started binding up the bite as best he could. It was already starting to swell, he had to get Ryou help, fast! 

Ryou whimpered, still clinging to Malik. "I don't wanna die!" 

"Shh, you won't die," Malik said, though he doubted his own words. "You're gonna be okay, I promise. Now listen to me, Ryou. You gotta lay still while I go get mommy and Sissy, okay? You can't move at all." 

"N-no!" Ryou grabbed Malik's shirt as the older boy started to get up. "I promise I won't tell mommy on you, Malik. Please don't leave me!" He was sobbing by now, and Malik's heart broke. 

"I-I have to Ry, but I promise I'll be back, okay?" 

Ryou shook his head. "Don't leave me! I don't wanna die by myself!" 

"You won't die," Malik's voice trembled slightly. "If you let me go get help. I'll be back before you know it." 

Reluctantly Ryou nodded, releasing his grip on Malik's shirt. Malik wished for all the world he could stay, for he could see the terror on Ryou's face, but there was no way he could carry him back to camp in time. The only chance was for Malik to run back and send help. 

Trying not to feel like he was abandoning his brother, Malik turned and ran. 

~*~

"Isis! Isis! Mommy hurry! _Please_!" 

Angeline looked up from where she was sitting on the floor of Atemu House's conservation room, playing with Amane. Something was wrong, Malik sounded frightened, and he never called Isis 'Isis' unless he was upset. Standing up and lifting Amane into her arms, Angeline reached the door just as Isis did. They were just in time to see Malik slide to a stop in front of them and bend over with his hands on his knees, panting. Angeline's heart nearly stopped when she saw he was alone. "Where's Ryou?" 

Malik raised his head, allowing both women to see his dusty, kohl- and tear-streaked face and his wide, frantic lavender eyes. "Oh mommy, Isis, Ryou got bitten by a snake! You gotta come quick!" 

Angeline gasped, and then wordlessly handed Amane to Isis. She turned and sprinted toward where Shen and Shaadi were overseeing construction on some of the village homes. 

"What kind of snake?" Isis asked sharply, absently hugging Amane protectively. 

Malik choked on more tears, and shook his head to clear them. "It had a head like this," he drew a triangle shape in the air, "With horns. It was the same color as the sand, I saw it!" 

"A horned viper," Isis breathed softly. "Shit, this isn't good." 

By this time Shen, Shaadi, and Angeline had returned, and someone had been sent to fetch the others. Isis quickly took charge, shoving Amane into her mother's arms. As soon as everyone was gathered, she began barking orders. "Rashiid, Shaadi, take Malik and go find Ryou. You know what to do to slow the poison. Just get him back here as quickly as you can. Pegasus, go radio Luxor hospital and tell them we've got a small child bitten by a Sahara horned viper. Cerastes cerastes is its scientific name. See if you can get them to send a team to meet us at the river. Or a helicopter, if they happen to have one. Cynthia, in my tent there should be a first aid kit, bring it here. Angeline, Shen, I don't mean to sound rude, but you two won't be of much help. Go look after the girls." 

"But-" 

"Just go!" 

Everyone scurried to their assigned tasks. Isis set about vandalizing the nearest cot and turning it into an improvised stretcher, all the while whispering quiet prayers to Wedjet, ancient goddess of serpents. 

~*~

The viper hissed softly as she slithered away from the two boys and the hail of rocks the blond was throwing at her. Damn him! Ah well, it didn't matter much that he'd chased her away before she made sure the white-haired one was dead. She'd injected enough poison into him to bring down a fully grown adult, let alone a runt like him. He'd be as good as dead before the next sunrise lit the desert. 

Slithering around the protective barrier of a sand dune, she concentrated and began to shift forms. A moment later a young woman of about nineteen years kneeled on the sand, wrapped in a white, translucent form of the gowns the Muslim locals wore, and minus the stifling headdress. Smirking slightly to herself, she ran perfectly manicured nails through long blond hair as she climbed to her feet. Absently she brushed sand off the front of her robe as she made her way back the way she'd come. If the little boy was smart, he would have run to get help for the toddler, leaving him unprotected for her to finish the job. 

Rounding the bend, her grin widened as she took in the small form of the boy, laying on his back on the sand. His eyes widened slightly when he saw her, and he sat up quickly. "Who are you?" 

"No one," she said softly, kneeling down next to him and lowering her eyelids slightly. "No one of importance." Reaching out one hand, she softly stroked his hair, causing him to shiver slightly. "Shhh... Child, you'll be all right." 

He whimpered a little. "N-no... When Mawik said that I believed him, but you... don't feel nice..." 

Her smile froze, violet-red eyes widening slightly before returning to their normal seductive slits. "Is that so?" Her other hand creeped toward the back of her skirt, where a simple sheath lay concealed. 

"Y-yeah... You're... a really bad person, I can tell." 

She smiled at him, stretching painted lips back to show slight fangs. "Oh child... I am not a _person_ at all." In one smooth motion she drew the knife from behind her, raising it over her head to strike as the child screamed in fright. A moment before the killing blow would have landed, however, another hand caught her wrist, while at the same time a hip knocked against her shoulder, sending both her and her assailant sprawling across the sand. 

She came up spitting, rolling into a crouch ready to fight, until she saw who had attacked her. The color drained out of her face as she beheld a man with tangled white hair and a scar down one cheek crouched protectively between her and the boy. "You should be sealed away for eternity!" 

Bekhura snarled at her, showing his own fangs. "Surprise, I'm not. Get out of here, demon, before I decide to kill you anyway." 

Shooting him a glare of her own, she stood up and gathered her dignity around her like a shawl before disappearing into the sands. Silently she cursed. The spirits of the Sennen Items were awake, then. "Master Marduk is not going to be happy..." she muttered. 

Then she was gone, in a swirl of linen and sand. 

~*~

Ryou looked up at the man crouching in front of him, his eyes wide in fear. "Wh-who are you?" 

The spirit's face gentled as he forced himself to put the demoness out of his mind. He'd deal with her later. "My name is Bekhura, little one. I'm a guardian spirit, here to make sure you're safe." 

Ryou sniffled. "S-safe?" 

"Yes child, you'll be all right. I promise." Bekhura reached out, although he knew he wouldn't be able to touch the boy. To his surprise, his hand brushed against soft curls without going through. The former thief blinked, then gathered the little boy up into his arms. "I promise." 

Ryou sniffed again and laid his head against the spirit's shoulder, wondering why he felt so secure in a stranger's arms. There was an air about Bekhura that spoke to something deep inside him, something that told him he could trust this "guardian spirit". He wasn't at all like the horrible woman he's just chased off. 

Comforted by such thoughts and Bekhura's strong arms, Ryou drifted into darkness. 

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WSJ: ^^; *hides* 

Yami Bakura: *rolls his eyes* Review and she'll write the next chapter faster. 

Yami Yugi: Maybe. 

God bless minna-san! 


End file.
